Systems and methods for transmitting a portion of a media asset containing an object to a first user

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided herein for transmitting a portion of a media asset containing an object to a user. In many media assets, specific features appear at portions of a program that users find interesting. These features can be compared with a database of stored objects that commonly appear in media assets to determine the object corresponding to the feature. The system may store data related to the media asset containing the object and, if the user is not currently accessing the media asset, may transmit the data to the user&#39;s mobile device.

BACKGROUND

Many viewers of media content, specifically television programs, findthat they are not interested in large portions of the provided content.Some viewers record programs in order to skip around to the aspects ofthe programs they enjoy. Others relentlessly switch between contentsources in an attempt to find a portion of a program that they findentertaining. However, these methods are inefficient as users areessentially guessing whether the content they select will be at a pointthat is interesting to them.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, systems and methods are provided herein for performing anaction based on a feature in a media asset. In many media assets,specific features appear at portions of a program that users findinteresting. These features can be compared with a database of storedobjects that commonly appear in media assets to determine an appropriateaction for the system to take.

In some instances, context of the object may be needed to determine anappropriate action. For example, directly before the beginning of everyplay in a football game, an arrow is displayed. However, just because aplay is about to occur does not mean the user would find the playinteresting. Instead, the arrow has to be given context with respect tothe football game. For example, if text displayed with the arrowindicates, “1^(st)+Goal,” the play may be more interesting to the userthan other plays, since there is an imminent possibility of scoringpoints, and may have a different action associated with the arrowindicating “1^(st)+Goal.” The system may perform a specific action oncean object is detected, such as skipping to the playback point where theobject appears, or transmitting data related to the media asset to amobile device if the user is not currently accessing the media asset.

In some aspects, a media guidance application may store a plurality ofobjects. For example, the media guidance application may maintain adatabase stored in memory of objects containing information about mediaassets they commonly apply to, contexts where the objects appear, andproperties of the objects.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may create thefeature. For example, either automatically by the media guidanceapplication or by a user, the media guidance application may receive aselection of a particular feature, such as an arrow. The media guidanceapplication may then associate the created feature with a plurality ofmedia assets, where the plurality of media assets contain similarcontent. For example, if the media guidance application determines thatthe arrow is commonly displayed in football and hockey games, it mayassociate the arrow object with sporting events. The media guidanceapplication may then store the created feature as the first object in alibrary of objects associated with the plurality of media assets. Forexample, the media guidance application may store the propertiesassociated with the arrow feature in an arrow object in a librarycontaining other objects associated with sporting events. The mediaguidance application may then generate an overlay with the first objecton the media asset. For example, upon receiving an indication, such as asignal in a data packet of a media asset stream, the media guidanceapplication may overlay the arrow object on the media asset.

In some aspects, the media guidance application receives at least oneframe of the media asset. For example, the media guidance applicationmay record an entire football game and examine each of the frames of thegame for an object. Alternatively, the media guidance application mayexamine the frames in live programming for objects as the frames arereceived. Alternatively, the media guidance application may store abuffer of live programming such that a number of frames before thecurrently displayed frame, after the currently displayed frame, or both,are analyzed to determine if any of the frames contain objects.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may determine a featurein the at least one frame of the media asset. For example, the mediaguidance application may determine that an arrow feature is present inthe at least one frame.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may analyze a pixelmap associated with the at least one frame of the media asset. Forexample, the media guidance application may define a pixel map for aframe in the media asset, where each pixel in the frame has a distinctposition. The media guidance application may then analyze a group ofpixels in the pixel map. For example, the media guidance application mayiteratively compare one pixel to other nearby pixels in the pixel map.

The media guidance application may then determine shared properties of asubset of pixels in the group of pixels. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine that every pixel in a particular horizontalline has similar properties. The media guidance application may generatea table for the feature containing relative positions and properties ofpixels in the subset of pixels. For example, the media guidanceapplication may store the relative positions of a horizontal linefeature, defined by the subset of pixels, as coordinates as well as anyadditional properties, such as color and brightness, in a table or otherdata structure.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may compare the featureto each of the stored plurality of objects to identify a first object ofthe stored plurality of objects that corresponds to the feature. Forexample, in response to determining that the at least one frame containsthe arrow feature, the media guidance application may compare theproperties of the arrow feature with the properties of objects stored inmemory. The media guidance application may compare the feature toobjects based on the genre, channel, or other commonalities of mediaassets for which the media guidance application has defined a library ofobjects.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application defines the featureby a first table containing relative positions and properties of a firstplurality of pixels. For example, the media guidance application maystore coordinates and properties for every pixel in separate rows of atable. The media guidance application may store a tolerance factor. Thetolerance factor may define how closely the properties of the featuredetected need to match the properties of the object stored in thedatabase in order for a match to be returned. For example, the mediaguidance application may store a tolerance factor of 1, which may meanthe properties must match exactly. Alternatively, the media guidanceapplication may store a tolerance factor of 30, which may mean theproperties do not need to be very close to return a match.

The media guidance application may then access a first pixel position ofa first pixel stored in the first table. For example, the media guidanceapplication may retrieve the coordinates of the first pixel positionfrom the first table. For instance, the media guidance application mayretrieve (5,10) as the relative coordinates of a first pixel in the(x,y) plane. The media guidance application may then compute an upperlimit based on multiplying coordinates of the first pixel position bythe tolerance factor. For example, for a tolerance factor of 2, themedia guidance application may compute the upper limit for thecoordinates (5,10) to be (10,20). The media guidance application maythen compute a lower limit based on dividing the coordinates of thefirst pixel position by the tolerance factor. For example, for atolerance factor of 2, the media guidance application may compute thelower limit for the coordinates (5,10) to be (2.5,5).

The media guidance application may retrieve a second pixel position ofone of a second plurality of pixels from a second table containingrelative positions and properties of pixels for the first object. Forexample, as described above for the feature, the media guidanceapplication may retrieve the coordinates of the second pixel positionfrom the second table. For instance, the media guidance application mayretrieve (4,7) as the relative coordinates of a pixel in the (x,y)plane. The media guidance application may then compare coordinates ofthe second pixel position to a range of coordinates of the first pixelposition defined by the lower limit to the upper limit. For example, themedia guidance application may compare the range of the first pixelposition coordinates defined based on the lower and upper limits(2.5-10,5-20) to the second pixel coordinates (4,7).

The media guidance application may then determine the first pixelposition matches the second pixel position when the coordinates of thesecond pixel position is within the range of coordinates of the firstpixel position. For example, since 4 falls between 2.5 and 10 and 7falls between 5 and 20, the media guidance application may determinethat the first pixel matches the second pixel. The media guidanceapplication, in response to determining a predetermined number of thepixel positions corresponding to the first plurality of pixels in thefirst table match one of a plurality pixel position in the second table,may determine the feature corresponds to the first object. For example,the media guidance application may store a predefined number orpercentage of pixels that need to match for a feature to be determinedto match an object, such as 85% of the pixels must match. For example,if a feature is defined by a table containing 100 pixels and the mediaguidance application determined 90 of the 100 pixels match an objectalso containing 100 pixels, the media guidance application may determinethat the feature matches the object since greater than the predefinedpercentage of pixels were matched.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may retrieve, from acontext field of a data structure associated with the first object, acontext indicator associated with the first object. For example, themedia guidance application may store in the data structure associatedwith the arrow object context indicators such as “1^(st)+10” or“3^(rd)+Goal,” which indicate the context of the arrow in the footballgame.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine, fromdata associated with the feature, a characteristic of the first object.For example, the media guidance application may determine that the framecontaining the object additionally contains a characteristic either ofthe object itself or related to the object. For instance, the arrowobject detected during a football game may be different colors indifferent situations or the frame may contain text directly indicatingthe context. The media guidance application may then compare thecharacteristic to characteristics of a plurality of context indicatorsstored in the data structure associated with the first object toidentify a first context indicator that corresponds to thecharacteristic. For example, the media guidance application may comparethe color of the arrow to colors of the arrow object corresponding todifferent context indicators. The media guidance application may thenretrieve the first context indicator from the context field of the datastructure associated with the first object. For example, upon comparinga red arrow that was detected to color characteristics of the arrowobject corresponding to different context indicators, the media guidanceapplication may determine the red arrow corresponds to a contextindicator “4^(th) down.”

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may store the firstcontext indicator, wherein progress towards a goal in a sporting eventbeing close to the goal is stored as a characteristic of the firstcontext indicator. For example, the media guidance application may storethat when the characteristic, “1^(st)+Goal” is detected, the progress ofa team is close to the goal. The media guidance application may alsostore a second context indicator, wherein progress towards the goal inthe sporting event being far from the goal is stored as a characteristicof the second context indicator. For example, the media guidanceapplication may store that when the characteristic, “4^(th)+30” isdetected, the progress of a team is not close to the goal.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may retrieve from adatabase of actions corresponding to context indicators an actioncorresponding to the context indicator associated with the first object.For example, upon determining the context indicator that applies to thecurrently detected object, the media guidance application may access adatabase of actions and determine which action corresponds to thecontext indicator. For instance, if the media guidance applicationretrieved a context indicator for the arrow in the football game of“4^(th)+30,” the corresponding stored action may instruct the mediaguidance application to skip forward to a different playback point since“4^(th)+30” likely results in punting in a football game, which is acontext that may be boring to the viewer.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may perform the actioncorresponding to the context indicator associated with the first object.For example, upon retrieving that the action associated with “4^(th)+30”is to skip forward to a different playback point, the media guidanceapplication may skip forward to a different playback point.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine theaction associated with the context indicator relates to moving a currentplayback position to another playback position that includes the object.For example, the media guidance application may determine that theaction associated with a “1^(st)+10” arrow appear at a specific frame isto move from the current playback position to the playback position ofthe frame containing the arrow. The media guidance application maydetermine the another playback position based on the at least one framecontaining the object. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine the position of the first of the at least one frame relativeto other frames of the media asset and determine the another playbackposition. For instance, the media guidance application may determinethat the first frame of the at least one frame corresponds to a playbackposition of 10 minutes into the media asset.

The media guidance application may move the current playback position tothe another playback position. For example, the media guidanceapplication may move the playback position from the current playbackposition, such as 7 minutes into the media asset, to the anotherplayback position, 10 minutes into the media asset. The media guidanceapplication may then play the media asset from the another playbackposition. For example, the media guidance application may play the mediaasset from the 10 minute mark corresponding to the frame where theobject was detected.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine theaction associated with the context indicator relates to alerting a userto a media asset listing with subject matter that corresponds to thefirst object. For example, the media guidance application may determinethat a context indicator for “Score Alert: ABC has scored” displayed inthe first media asset is associated with the action to alert the user toa media asset associated with the object, such as a currently airinggame of team ABC. The media guidance application may retrieve subjectmatter of the first object from a subject matter field of the datastructure associated with the first object. For example, the mediaguidance application may retrieve that the subject matter relating tothe “Score Alert” object with a context indicator of “ABC has scored” isany program relating to team “ABC.”

The media guidance application may search for a first media assetlisting associated with the retrieved subject matter. For example, themedia guidance application may search a plurality of media assetlistings in an electronic program guide to determine a media assetlisting referring to team “ABC.” The media guidance application maypromote the first media asset listing among a plurality of displayedmedia asset listings. For example, the media guidance application mayreorder the media asset listings such that a “recommended” section atthe top of listings in a program guide displays a program relating toteam “ABC.”

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine theaction associated with the context indicator relates to presentingsupplemental information related to the object. For example, the mediaguidance application may determine that the object, “Score Alert: ABC”with a context indicator “+7 points” relates to presenting supplementalinformation, such as an overlay with a video highlight of the play thatled to the scoring of points. The media guidance application mayretrieve a pointer to a location of supplemental information related tothe object from a supplemental information field of the data structureassociated with the object. For example, the media guidance applicationmay access the data structure of the “Score Alert: ABC” object andretrieve a pointer that points to a media content source containing avideo highlight of the play.

The media guidance application may access the location of thesupplemental information. For example, the media guidance applicationmay access the media content source where the video highlight is storedvia communications circuitry. The media guidance application mayretrieve the supplemental information. For example, the media guidanceapplication may retrieve the video highlight. The media guidanceapplication may generate a simultaneous display of the media asset andthe supplemental information. For example, the media guidanceapplication may generate the video highlight over a section of the mediaasset.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine theaction is associated with presenting a first media asset to the usersimultaneously with a second media asset currently being accessed by theuser. For example, the media guidance application may present a footballgame as an overlay on the program the user is currently accessing. Themedia guidance application may determine the user is not accessing thefirst media asset. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine that the user is currently viewing a news program. The mediaguidance application may retrieve the first media asset. For example,the media guidance application may retrieve the football game. The mediaguidance application may generate a simultaneous display of the firstmedia asset and the second media asset currently being accessed by theuser. For example, the media guidance application may generate fordisplay the football game overlaid on a portion of the news program. Insome embodiments, the media guidance application performs a method fortransmitting a portion of a media asset containing an object to a firstuser. For example, the media guidance application may transmit a portionof a football program containing an object indicating a touchdown wasscored to the first user on a mobile device.

In some aspects in order to transmit a portion of a media assetcontaining an object to a first user, a media guidance application maystore a plurality of objects. For example, the media guidanceapplication may maintain a database stored in memory of objectscontaining information about media assets they commonly apply to,contexts where the objects appear, and properties of the objects.

In some embodiments in order to transmit a portion of a media assetcontaining an object to a first user, the media guidance application maycreate the feature. For example, either automatically by the mediaguidance application or by a user, the media guidance application mayreceive a selection of a particular feature, such as a “Score Alert”box. The media guidance application may then associate the createdfeature with a plurality of media assets, where the plurality of mediaassets contain similar content. For example, if the media guidanceapplication determines that the “Score Alert” is commonly displayed infootball and hockey games, it may associate the arrow object withsporting events. The media guidance application may then store thecreated feature as the first object in a library of objects associatedwith the plurality of media assets. For example, the media guidanceapplication may store the properties associated with the “Score Alert”feature in an “Score Alert” object in a library containing other objectsassociated with sporting events. The media guidance application may thengenerate an overlay with the first object on the media asset. Forexample, upon receiving an indication, such as a signal in a data packetof a media asset stream, the media guidance application may overlay the“Score Alert” object on the media asset.

In some aspects in order to transmit a portion of a media assetcontaining an object to a first user, the media guidance applicationreceives at least one frame of the media asset. For example, the mediaguidance application may record an entire football game and examine eachof the frames of the game for an object. Alternatively, the mediaguidance application may examine the frames in live programming forobjects as the frames are received. Alternatively, the media guidanceapplication may store a buffer of live programming such that a number offrames before the currently displayed frame, after the currentlydisplayed frame, or both, are analyzed to determine if any of the framescontain objects.

In some aspects in order to transmit a portion of a media assetcontaining an object to a first user, the media guidance application maydetermine a feature in the at least one frame of the media asset. Forexample, the media guidance application may determine that an “ScoreAlert” feature is present in the at least one frame.

In some embodiments in order to transmit a portion of a media assetcontaining an object to a first user, the media guidance application mayanalyze a pixel map associated with the at least one frame of the mediaasset. For example, the media guidance application may define a pixelmap for a frame in the media asset, where each pixel in the frame has adistinct position. The media guidance application may then analyze agroup of pixels in the pixel map. For example, the media guidanceapplication may iteratively compare one pixel to other nearby pixels inthe pixel map and determine that the at least one frame contains the“Score Alert” feature.

The media guidance application may then determine shared properties of asubset of pixels in the group of pixels, in order to transmit a portionof a media asset containing an object to a first user. For example, themedia guidance application may determine that the pixels in a certaingroup of pixels in the “Score Alert” feature are arranged to form theletters, “Score Alert.” The media guidance application may generate atable for the feature containing relative positions and properties ofpixels in the subset of pixels. For example, the media guidanceapplication may store the relative positions of the “Score Alert”feature, defined by the subset of pixels, as coordinates as well as anyadditional properties, such as color and brightness, in a table or otherdata structure.

In some aspects in order to transmit a portion of a media assetcontaining an object to a first user, the media guidance application maycompare the feature to each of the stored plurality of objects toidentify a first object of the stored plurality of objects thatcorresponds to the feature. For example, in response to determining thatthe at least one frame contains the arrow feature, the media guidanceapplication may compare the properties of the “Score Alert” feature withthe properties of objects stored in memory. The media guidanceapplication may compare the feature to objects based on the genre,channel, or other commonalities of media assets for which the mediaguidance application has defined a library of objects.

In some embodiments in order to transmit a portion of a media assetcontaining an object to a first user, the media guidance applicationdefines the feature by a first table containing relative positions andproperties of a first plurality of pixels. For example, the mediaguidance application may store coordinates and properties for everypixel in separate rows of a table. The media guidance application maystore a tolerance factor. The tolerance factor may define how closelythe properties of the feature detected need to match the properties ofthe object stored in the database in order for a match to be returned.For example, the media guidance application may store a tolerance factorof 1, which may mean the properties must match exactly. Alternatively,the media guidance application may store a tolerance factor of 30, whichmay mean the properties do not need to be very close to return a match.

The media guidance application may then access a first pixel position ofa first pixel stored in the first table, in order to transmit a portionof a media asset containing an object to a first user. For example, themedia guidance application may retrieve the coordinates of the firstpixel position from the first table. For instance, the media guidanceapplication may retrieve (5,10) as the relative coordinates of a firstpixel in the (x,y) plane. The media guidance application may thencompute an upper limit based on multiplying coordinates of the firstpixel position by the tolerance factor. For example, for a tolerancefactor of 2, the media guidance application may compute the upper limitfor the coordinates (5,10) to be (10,20). The media guidance applicationmay then compute a lower limit based on dividing the coordinates of thefirst pixel position by the tolerance factor. For example, for atolerance factor of 2, the media guidance application may compute thelower limit for the coordinates (5,10) to be (2.5,5).

The media guidance application may retrieve a second pixel position ofone of a second plurality of pixels from a second table containingrelative positions and properties of pixels for the first object, inorder to transmit a portion of a media asset containing an object to afirst user. For example, as described above for the feature, the mediaguidance application may retrieve the coordinates of the second pixelposition from the second table. For instance, the media guidanceapplication may retrieve (4,7) as the relative coordinates of a pixel inthe (x,y) plane. The media guidance application may then comparecoordinates of the second pixel position to a range of coordinates ofthe first pixel position defined by the lower limit to the upper limit.For example, the media guidance application may compare the range of thefirst pixel position coordinates defined based on the lower and upperlimits (2.5-10,5-20) to the second pixel coordinates (4,7).

The media guidance application may then determine the first pixelposition matches the second pixel position when the coordinates of thesecond pixel position is within the range of coordinates of the firstpixel position. For example, since 4 falls between 2.5 and 10 and 7falls between 5 and 20, the media guidance application may determinethat the first pixel matches the second pixel. The media guidanceapplication, in response to determining a predetermined number of thepixel positions corresponding to the first plurality of pixels in thefirst table match one of a plurality pixel position in the second table,may determine the feature corresponds to the first object. For example,the media guidance application may store a predefined number orpercentage of pixels that need to match for a feature to be determinedto match an object, such as 85% of the pixels must match. For example,if a feature is defined by a table containing 100 pixels and the mediaguidance application determined 90 of the 100 pixels match an objectalso containing 100 pixels, the media guidance application may determinethat the feature matches the object since greater than the predefinedpercentage of pixels were matched, in order to transmit a portion of amedia asset containing an object to a first user.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may determine the firstuser is not accessing the media asset. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine that all of the user equipment devicesassociated with the first user are either powered down or tuned to adifferent media asset.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve anidentifier of a first user equipment device of a plurality of userequipment devices associated with the first user from the data structurecontaining the user profile associated with the first user. For example,the media guidance application may query the data structure containingthe user profile of the first user and determine there are two set-topboxes connected to televisions associated with the user's account.Further, the media guidance application may then retrieve an identifierof one of the set-top boxes. The media guidance application may access astatus of the first user equipment device. For example, the mediaguidance application may transmit a message to the set-top box to querythe status of tuners contained in the set-top box. The media guidanceapplication may determine, from the status, the first user equipmentdevice is not accessing the media asset. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine that since each tuner of a set-top box istuned to a different program, the set-top box is not accessing the mediaasset.

The media guidance application may, in response to determining each ofthe plurality of user equipment devices associated with the first useris not accessing the media asset, determine the first user is notaccessing the media asset. For example, if the media guidanceapplication determines that each of the user equipment devices is notreceiving the media asset, the media guidance application may determinethat the first user is not accessing the first media asset.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may, in response todetermining the feature corresponds to the first object and the firstuser is not accessing the media asset, store data corresponding to theat least one frame containing the object in memory. For example, themedia guidance application may store a screenshot of the at least oneframe containing the object. As another example, the media guidanceapplication may store a portion of the media asset containing theobject. As another example, the media guidance application may store adetailed description or media asset listing associated with the object.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine afirst playback point in the media asset based on a first frame of the atleast one frame containing the object. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine the position of the first of the at least oneframe relative to other frames of the media asset and determine thefirst playback point. For instance, the media guidance application maydetermine that the first frame of the at least one frame corresponds toa playback point of 10 minutes into the media asset. The media guidanceapplication may store, from the first playback point, the portion of themedia asset in memory. For example, the media guidance application maystore frames of the media asset subsequent to the first frame in memory.The media guidance application may determine a second playback point inthe media asset based on a second frame wherein the second frame doesnot contain the object. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine the position of the second frame relative to other frames ofthe media asset and determine the second playback point. For instance,the media guidance application may determine that the second framecorresponds to a playback point of 15 minutes into the media asset. Themedia guidance application may cease the storing of the portion of themedia asset in memory at the second playback point.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine, froman information field of a data structure associated with the object, apointer to a location of the information describing the media asset. Forexample, the media guidance application may access the data structure ofa “New team ABC” object and retrieve a pointer that points to a mediacontent source containing a video highlight of the team ABC.

The media guidance application may access the location of theinformation describing the media asset. For example, the media guidanceapplication may access the media content source where the videohighlight is stored via communications circuitry. The media guidanceapplication may retrieve the information describing the media asset. Forexample, the media guidance application may retrieve the videohighlight.

The media guidance application may store the information describing themedia asset in memory. For example, the media guidance application maystore, in a data structure in a user profile associated with the firstuser, the video highlight.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may retrieve anidentifier of a mobile device of the first user from a data structurecontaining a user profile associated with the first user. For example,the media guidance application may retrieve an identifier of a mobilephone, such as telephone number of the mobile phone, associated with thefirst user.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may access the datastructure containing the user profile associated with the first user.The media guidance application may then query the data structure todetermine if any mobile devices are associated with the first user. Themedia guidance application may then, in response to determining thefirst mobile device is associated with the first user, retrieve theidentifier of the first mobile device associated with the first user.For example, the media guidance application may retrieve a telephonenumber corresponding to a mobile phone associated with the first user.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may transmit, to themobile device associated with the first user, the stored datacorresponding to the at least one frame containing the object. Forexample, the media guidance application may transmit a text message tothe first user's mobile phone containing the stored data, oralternatively, a link to the stored data.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine thefirst mobile device has not received the transmitted stored data. Forexample, the media guidance application may request a receipt oftransmission from the first mobile device. After not receiving anindication the transmission was successful in a threshold period oftime, the media guidance application may determine the first mobiledevice has not received the stored data.

The media guidance application may query the data structure containingthe user profile associated with the first user for a second mobiledevice associated with the first user. For example, the media guidanceapplication may query the data structure and determine a second mobilephone is associated with the first user. The media guidance applicationmay then retrieve an identifier, such as a telephone number, of a secondmobile phone associated with the first user. The media guidanceapplication may, in response to determining the second mobile deviceassociated with the first user, transmit the stored data correspondingto the at least one frame containing the object to the second mobiledevice. For example, the media guidance application may transmit thestored data to the second mobile phone associated with the first user.

In some embodiments, in response to the mobile device receiving thetransmission of the stored data, the media guidance application maygenerate for display on the mobile device an identifier of the mediaasset. For example, the media guidance application may generate fordisplay an identifier of the media asset, such as “Football Game,”corresponding to an object stored in the database containing a pluralityof objects.

The media guidance application may generate for display on the mobiledevice a selectable option to access the stored data. For example, themedia guidance application may generate for display an option to openthe received stored data. In response to the first user selecting theoption to access the stored data, the media guidance application maygenerate for display the stored data on the mobile device. For example,the media guidance application may generate for display a portion of themedia asset containing the object.

It should be noted the systems and/or methods described above may beapplied to, or used in accordance with, other systems, methods and/orapparatuses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the disclosure will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative display of a media guidance applicationdisplaying a media asset with an object in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows another illustrative display of a media guidanceapplication displaying an object being created in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative depiction of a database containing objectsin accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative depiction of a database containing actionscorresponding to context indicators in accordance with some embodimentsof the disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative display of a media guidance applicationdisplaying a media asset in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 6 shows yet another illustrative display of a media guidanceapplication displaying an object on the media asset in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative display of an electronic program guide inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative display of a media guidance applicationdisplaying a second media asset and the first media asset in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows another illustrative display of a media guidanceapplication displaying a second media asset in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 10 shows an illustrative example of a display screen for use inaccessing media content in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 11 shows another illustrative example of a display screen usedaccess media content in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an illustrative user equipment device inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an illustrative media system in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for performing an actionbased on context of a feature in a media asset in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for storing the pluralityof objects in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining a featurein the at least one frame of the media asset in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for comparing the featureto one of the stored plurality of objects in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining an actionto perform based on a retrieved context indicator in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for performing the actioncorresponding with the context indicator associated with the firstobject in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for transmitting a portionof a media asset containing an object to a first user in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining the firstuser is not accessing the first media asset in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for storing datacorresponding to the at least one frame containing the object in memoryin accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for retrieving theidentifier of the mobile device of the first user from the datastructure containing the user profile associated with the first user inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for transmitting, to themobile device associated with the first user, the stored datacorresponding to the at least one frame containing the object inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods are provided herein for performing an action basedon a feature in a media asset. In many media assets, specific featuresappear at portions of a program that users find interesting. Thesefeatures can be compared with a database of stored objects that commonlyappear in media assets to determine an appropriate action for the systemto take.

In some instances, context of the object may be needed to determine anappropriate action. For example, directly before the beginning of everyplay in a football game, an arrow is displayed. However, just because aplay is about to occur does not mean the user would find the playinteresting. Instead, the arrow has to be given context with respect tothe football game. For example, if text displayed with the arrowindicates, “1^(st)+Goal,” the play may be more interesting to the userthan other plays, since there is an imminent possibility of scoringpoints, and may have a different action associated with it. The systemmay perform a specific action once an object is detected, such asskipping to the playback point where the object appears, or transmittingdata related to the media asset to a mobile device if the user is notcurrently accessing the media asset.

As referred to herein, a “media guidance application,” or an“interactive media guidance application” or, sometimes, a “mediaguidance application” or a “guidance application” is an application thatallows a user to consume, and/or navigate to, media assets. In someembodiments, the media guidance application may be provided as an onlineapplication (i.e., provided on a website), or as a stand-aloneapplication on a server, user device, etc. In some embodiments, controlcircuitry installed on various devices and platforms may execute themedia guidance application, as described in more detail below. In someembodiments, the media guidance application and/or any instructions forperforming any of the embodiments discussed herein may be encoded oncomputer readable media. Computer readable media includes any mediacapable of storing data. The computer readable media may be transitory,including, but not limited to, propagating electrical or electromagneticsignals, or may be non-transitory including, but not limited to,volatile and nonvolatile computer memory or storage devices such as ahard disk, floppy disk, USB drive, DVD, CD, media card, register memory,processor caches, Random Access Memory (“RAM”), etc.

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative display of a media guidance applicationdisplaying a media asset with an object in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. For example, display 100 may bepresenting a media guidance application displaying media asset 102.Display 100 may appear on one or more user devices (e.g., any of thedevices listed in FIGS. 12-13 below). Moreover, the media guidanceapplication may use one or more of the processes described in FIGS.14-24 below to generate display 100 or any of the features describedtherein.

FIG. 1 includes display 100. Display 100 may appear on a display device(e.g., user equipment devices 1302, 1304, and/or 1306 (FIG. 13) below).Furthermore, control circuitry 1204, as described below in relation toFIG. 12, may be used to generate a display 100. Display 100 includesmedia asset 102 presented by the media guidance application whichincludes arrow 104. For example, the media guidance application mayreceive a request by the first user (e.g., via user input interface1210) to view media asset 102.

In some aspects, the media guidance application receives at least oneframe of media asset 102. For example, the media guidance applicationmay record an entire football game in memory (e.g., storage as describedin FIG. 12 below) and examine each of the frames of the game for anobject. Alternatively, the media guidance application may examine theframes in live programming for objects as the frames are received. Forexample, the media guidance application may examine each frame as it ispresented on display 100 for objects. Alternatively, the media guidanceapplication may store a buffer of live programming such that a number offrames before the currently displayed frame, after the currentlydisplayed frame, or both, are analyzed to determine if any of the framescontain objects. For example, the media guidance application maymaintain a buffer of ten frames in memory (e.g., storage as described inFIG. 12 below), such that display 100 displays the eleventh mostrecently received frame and the ten more recently received frames areanalyzed by the media guidance application for objects.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may determine a featurein the at least one frame of the media asset. For example, the mediaguidance application may determine that an arrow feature 104 is presentin the at least one frame of media asset 102. In some embodiments, themedia guidance application may determine the feature by examining thepatterns of particular subsets of pixels in the at least one frame ofmedia asset 102, as described further in FIG. 2-3 below. In otherembodiments, the media guidance application may determine the feature byanalyzing patterns in the waveform of an audio track. For example, themedia guidance application may determine that the appearance ofparticular frequencies that appear in a repeated pattern in media asset102 corresponds to a feature.

In some aspects, a media guidance application may store a plurality ofobjects. For example, the media guidance application may maintain adatabase stored in memory (e.g., storage as described in FIG. 12 below)of objects containing information about media assets they commonly applyto, contexts where the objects appear, and properties of the objects.For example, the media guidance application may organize the objectsinto a table where each column describes properties of an object, asdescribed in FIG. 3 below.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may compare the featureto each of the stored plurality of objects to identify a first object ofthe stored plurality of objects that corresponds to the feature. Forexample, in response to determining that the at least one frame containsarrow feature 104, the media guidance application may compare theproperties of arrow feature 104 with the properties of objects stored inmemory (e.g., storage as described in FIG. 12 below). The media guidanceapplication may compare the feature to objects based on the genre,channel, or other commonalities of media assets for which the mediaguidance application has defined a library of objects, as describedfurther in FIG. 2-3. The media guidance application may then determinethat arrow feature 104 corresponds to the arrow object stored in memory.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may retrieve, from acontext field of a data structure associated with the first object, acontext indicator associated with the first object. For example, themedia guidance application may store in the data structure associatedwith the arrow object context indicators such as “1^(st)+10” or “3^(rd)and Goal,” which indicate the context of the arrow in the football game.

Specifically, the media guidance application associates differentcontext indicators with each object so that an action may be taken bythe media guidance application specific to the context of the object.For example, the media guidance application may determine that thecontext indicator 106 that applies to arrow 104 is “1^(st)+10,” based onan additional characteristic in the at least one frame of media asset102 containing arrow 104, which may be determined as described in FIG.2-3. The media guidance application can thus differentiate the“1^(st)+10” play from the “3^(rd) and Goal” play and perform an actionappropriate for each situation.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may retrieve from adatabase of actions corresponding to context indicators an actioncorresponding to the context indicator associated with the first object.For example, upon determining the context indicator 106 that applies tothe currently detected object, the media guidance application may accessa database of actions and determine which action corresponds to thecontext indicator, as described further in FIG. 4 below. For instance,the media guidance application retrieved a context indicator for thearrow 104 in media asset 102 of “1^(st)+10,” the corresponding storedaction may instruct the media guidance application to skip to this pointin a recording once it is detected, since “1^(st)+10” represents thebeginning of a set of downs in a football game, which likely correspondsto action the user will find entertaining. Alternatively, if the mediaguidance application retrieved a context indicator for the arrow in thefootball game of “4^(th)+30,” the corresponding stored action mayinstruct the media guidance application to skip forward to a differentplayback point since “4^(th)+30” likely results in punting in a footballgame, which is a context that may be boring to the viewer.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may perform the actioncorresponding to the context indicator associated with the first object.For example, upon retrieving that the action associated with “1^(st)+10”is to move to that playback point, the media guidance application maymove to the playback point of the arrow 104 with context indicator 106,“1^(st)+10.” In some embodiments, the media guidance application mayperform the action automatically without further input from the user.For example, as the user is viewing a recording of a football game, suchas media asset 102, the media guidance application may automaticallyskip to the frame shown in FIG. 1 containing object 104 without furtheruser input. In other embodiments, the media guidance application mayperform the action upon receiving a user input. For example, if themedia guidance application receives a user input of a “skip forward”option, the media guidance application may skip forward to the frameshown in FIG. 1 containing the object, instead of skipping forward basedon time alone (e.g., skipping 30 seconds forward in time).

FIG. 2 shows another illustrative display of a media guidanceapplication displaying an object being created in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. For example, display 200 may bepresenting a media guidance application displaying a plurality ofoptions for creating a new object, such as “Down and Distance Arrow”202. Display 200 may appear on one or more user devices (e.g., any ofthe devices listed in FIGS. 12-13 below). Moreover, the media guidanceapplication may use one or more of the processes described in FIGS.14-24 below to generate display 100 or any of the features describedtherein.

FIG. 2 includes display 200. Display 200 may appear on a display device(e.g., user equipment devices 1302, 1304, and/or 1306 (FIG. 13) below).Furthermore, control circuitry 1204, as described below in relation toFIG. 12, may be used to generate a display 200. Display 200 includes anindication of the object being created, “Down and Distance Arrow” 202.The media guidance application may store a plurality of objects createdin the same manner as “Down and Distance Arrow” 202. For example, themedia guidance application may maintain a database stored in memory ofobjects containing information about media assets they commonly applyto, contexts where the objects appear, and properties of the objects, asdescribed below.

The media guidance application may create the object “Down and DistanceArrow” 202. For example, the media guidance application may receive auser input (e.g., via a user input interface as described in FIG. 12) aselection of a particular feature, such as arrow 204. For instance, themedia guidance application may receive the user input as a traced imagefrom a frame of a media asset to define feature 204. Alternatively, theuser may draw feature 204 without reference to a frame from a mediaasset. Alternatively, the media guidance application may determine thata feature, defined by characteristics of the pixels in frames of themedia asset, is common to a plurality of media assets and create feature204 without further user input.

The media guidance application may receive a selection of a portion ofthe feature 204 that may contain context indicator 206. For example, themedia guidance application may receive a user selection of a rectangularbox where text describing the feature generally appears, (i.e., thatgives the object context such as “1^(st)+10” which defines the specificdown and distance for a play in a football game). The text describingthe feature may be stored in a context table 208, where a plurality ofpossible contexts are listed which may appear as the context indicator206 in feature 204.

The media guidance application may, based on created feature 204, definepixel coordinates 210 which can be used by the media guidanceapplication to define feature 204. For example, the media guidanceapplication may define for each pixel a relative position in (x,y)coordinate space for the pixel. This allows the media guidanceapplication to compare a feature detected in a media asset to objectsstored in memory, as described further in FIG. 3.

The media guidance application may then associate the created featurewith a plurality of media assets, where each of the plurality of mediaassets contains similar content. For example, if the media guidanceapplication determines that arrow 204 is commonly displayed in footballrelated media assets, it may associate the arrow object with footballgames 212.

The media guidance application may then store the created feature 204 asthe first object 202 in a library of objects associated with theplurality of media assets. For example, the media guidance applicationmay store the properties associated with arrow feature 204 in an arrowobject 202 in a library containing other objects associated withsporting events. The media guidance application may then generate anoverlay with the first object on the media asset. For example, uponreceiving an indication, such as a signal in a data packet of a mediaasset stream, the media guidance application may overlay the arrowobject 202 on the media asset.

The media guidance application may determine a feature in the at leastone frame of the media asset. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine that an arrow feature is present by examiningpixels in the at least one frame and determining context indicator 206and feature 204 in a similar manner to that described above for creatingnew object 202. Once the media guidance application has mapped thefeature and a table of pixel coordinates 210 has been created for thefeature, it may be compared to objects stored in memory.

The media guidance application may analyze a pixel map associated withthe at least one frame of the media asset. For example, the mediaguidance application may define a pixel map for a frame in the mediaasset, where each pixel in the frame has a distinct position (e.g.,table of pixel coordinates 210). The media guidance application may thenanalyze a group of pixels in the pixel map. For example, the mediaguidance application may iteratively compare one pixel to other nearbypixels in the pixel map.

The media guidance application may then determine shared properties of asubset of pixels in the group of pixels. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine that every pixel in a particular horizontalline has similar properties. The media guidance application may generatea table (e.g., table of pixel coordinates 210) for the featurecontaining relative positions and properties of pixels in the subset ofpixels. For example, the media guidance application may store therelative positions of a horizontal line feature, defined by the subsetof pixels, as coordinates as well as any additional properties, such ascolor and brightness, in a table or other data structure. The mediaguidance application may then compare the detected feature to theobjects easily, since both the detected feature and the created objectshave a table of pixel coordinates (e.g., table 210) associated withthem.

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative depiction of a database containing objectsin accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. For example,database 300 may be organized such that each column corresponds to aparticular object, and properties relating to each object are containedin rows below. Database 300 may be stored in memory (e.g., storage asdescribed in FIG. 12) on one or more user devices (e.g., any of thedevices listed in FIGS. 12-13 below). Moreover, the media guidanceapplication may use one or more of the processes described in FIGS.14-24 below to generate database 300 or any of the features describedtherein.

FIG. 3 includes database 300. Database 300 may be stored in memory(e.g., storage as described in FIG. 12) on a display device (e.g., userequipment devices 1302, 1304, and/or 1306 (FIG. 13) below). Furthermore,control circuitry 1204, as described below in relation to FIG. 12, maybe used to generate database 300 and populate it with values. Database300 includes an identifier of object 302, “Down and Distance Arrow,” aswell as a plurality of identifiers of additional objects 310 insubsequent columns of the table. Each object has a plurality ofproperties (e.g., pixel coordinates field 304, other properties 306, andcontexts 308) associated with the object.

The media guidance application may store pixel coordinates 304 for anobject. In some embodiments, the media guidance application defines thefeature or features representative of object 302 by a first tablecontaining relative positions and properties of a first plurality ofpixels (e.g., as described in FIG. 2). The media guidance applicationmay store in pixel coordinates field 304 of object 302 a pointer to atable containing the pixel coordinates for object 302, or the field maycontain a two-dimensional array, list, or other data structureappropriate for containing the (x,y) plane relative pixel coordinates.For example, the media guidance application may store coordinates andproperties for every pixel in separate rows of a table (e.g., asdescribed in FIG. 2).

The media guidance application may store a tolerance factor. Thetolerance factor may define how closely the properties of the featuredetected need to match the properties of object 302 stored in database300 in order for a match to be returned. For example, the media guidanceapplication may store a tolerance factor of 1, which may mean theproperties must match exactly. Alternatively, the media guidanceapplication may store a tolerance factor of 30, which may mean theproperties do not need to be very close to return a match.

The media guidance application may then access a first pixel position ofa first pixel stored in the first table containing the pixel coordinatesof the detected feature. For example, the media guidance application mayretrieve the coordinates of the first pixel position from the firsttable by executing a database query language script, such as SQL,utilizing the declarative “Select” command to access data in aparticular table or expression. For instance, the media guidanceapplication may retrieve (5,10) as the relative coordinates of a firstpixel in the (x,y) plane. The media guidance application may thencompute an upper limit based on multiplying coordinates of the firstpixel position by the tolerance factor. For example, for a tolerancefactor of 2, the media guidance application may compute the upper limitfor the coordinates (5,10) to be (10,20). The media guidance applicationmay then compute a lower limit based on dividing the coordinates of thefirst pixel position by the tolerance factor. For example, for atolerance factor of 2, the media guidance application may compute thelower limit for the coordinates (5,10) to be (2.5,5).

The media guidance application may retrieve a second pixel position ofone of a second plurality of pixels from a second table (e.g., eithercontained or pointed to by pixel coordinates field 304) containingrelative positions and properties of pixels for the first object (e.g.,object 302). For example, as described above for the feature, the mediaguidance application may retrieve the coordinates of the second pixelposition from the second table (e.g., either contained or pointed to bypixel coordinates field 304). For instance, the media guidanceapplication may retrieve (4,7) as the relative coordinates of a pixel inthe (x,y) plane. The media guidance application may then comparecoordinates of the second pixel position to a range of coordinates ofthe first pixel position defined by the lower limit to the upper limit.For example, the media guidance application may compare the range of thefirst pixel position coordinates defined based on the lower and upperlimits (2.5-10,5-20) to the second pixel coordinates (4,7).

The media guidance application may then determine the first pixelposition matches the second pixel position when the coordinates of thesecond pixel position is within the range of coordinates of the firstpixel position. For example, since 4 falls between 2.5 and 10 and 7falls between 5 and 20, the media guidance application may determinethat the first pixel matches the second pixel.

The media guidance application, in response to determining apredetermined number of the pixel positions corresponding to the firstplurality of pixels in the first table match one of a plurality pixelposition in the second table, may determine the feature corresponds tothe first object (e.g., object 302). For example, the media guidanceapplication may store a predefined number or percentage of pixels thatneed to match for a feature to be determined to match object 302, suchas 85% of the pixels must match. For example, if a feature is defined bya table containing 100 pixels and the media guidance applicationdetermined 90 of the 100 pixels match an object also containing 100pixels, the media guidance application may determine that the featurematches object 302 since greater than the predefined percentage ofpixels matched.

The media guidance application may store other properties 306 associatedwith objects (e.g., 302 and 310) in database 300. For instance, thetolerance factor described above may be stored in other properties 306.Alternatively or additionally, the media guidance application may storethe media assets in which the object (e.g., 302 and 310) commonlyappears in other properties 306. For example, the media guidanceapplication may store that object 302 is commonly determined in sportingevents, specifically football games. Alternatively or additionally, themedia guidance application may store properties associated with the hue,brightness, contrast of the pixels comprising the object. For example,the media guidance application may contain either in a separate table inother properties 306 or as additional rows in pixel coordinates field304, an indication of the color of each pixel (e.g., based onred-green-blue color numbers).

The media guidance application may store contexts 308 associated witheach object (e.g., object 302 and each of objects 310) andcharacteristics that suggest that a particular context applies indatabase 300. For example, “Down and Distance Arrow” object 302 maycontain a plurality of contexts. Each context provides clarity for thesituation in which the object appears. For example, object 302 mayappear during a plurality of distinct playback points during a footballgame, but the context of its appearance may not be the same each time itappears. For example, the media guidance application may store“1^(st)+10” and “4^(th)+30” as particular contexts for object 302. As anexample, characteristics of “1^(st)+10” may include the text “1^(st)+10”as well as a color of the pixels spelling out the text, such as green(indicated by red-green-blue color numbers). Avid football fans willknow that in most “4^(th)+30” situations, the team will likely bepunting. Viewers may find this much less entertaining than a “1^(st)+10”play and as such the media guidance application may perform a differentaction.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine, fromdata associated with the feature, a characteristic of the first object.For example, the media guidance application may determine that the framecontaining the object additionally contains a characteristic either ofthe object itself or related to the object. For instance, an arrowobject detected during a football game may be different colors indifferent situations or the frame may contain text directly indicatingthe context. The media guidance application may then compare thecharacteristic to characteristics of a plurality of context indicatorsstored in database 300 as a plurality of contexts 308 associated withthe first object (e.g., object 302) to identify a first contextindicator that corresponds to the characteristic. For example, the mediaguidance application may compare the color of the arrow to colors of thearrow object corresponding to different context indicators. The mediaguidance application may then retrieve the first context indicator fromthe context field of the data structure associated with the first object(e.g., the cell of the column defining object 302 containing theappropriate context). For example, upon comparing a red arrow that wasdetected to color characteristics of the “Down and Distance Arrow”object 302 corresponding to different context indicators, the mediaguidance application may determine the red arrow corresponds to acontext indicator “4^(th) down.”

The media guidance application may store the first context indicator,wherein progress towards a goal in a sporting event being close to thegoal is stored as a characteristic of the first context indicator. Forexample, the media guidance application may store as one of contexts 308that when the characteristic, “1^(st)+Goal” is detected, the progress ofa team is close to the goal. The media guidance application may alsostore a second context indicator as one of contexts 308, whereinprogress towards the goal in the sporting event being far from the goalis stored as a characteristic of the second context indicator. Forexample, the media guidance application may store that when thecharacteristic, “4^(th)+30” is detected, the progress of a team is notclose to the goal.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may detect multipleobjects all in the same at least one frame. In other properties 306, themedia guidance application may store an indication of relative priorityof each object, which may be tied to contexts 308. For example, while“4^(th)+30” punting situations may typically result in the mediaguidance application performing a certain action (e.g., skipping theplay), if a second object is detected the media guidance application mayperform a different action. For example, if an object “loud cheering” isdetected along with object 302 with context “4^(th)+30,” the “loudcheering” action may have priority as indicated in other properties by apriority level “1” for the “loud cheering” object and a priority level“5” for object 302 with context “4^(th)+30.”

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative depiction of a database containing actionscorresponding to context indicators in accordance with some embodimentsof the disclosure. For example, database 400 may be organized such thateach row corresponds to a particular context indicator 402 and an actionassociated with that context indicator 404. Database 400 may be storedin memory (e.g., storage as described in FIG. 12) on one or more userdevices (e.g., any of the devices listed in FIGS. 12-13 below).Moreover, the media guidance application may use one or more of theprocesses described in FIGS. 14-24 below to generate database 400 or anyof the features described therein.

FIG. 4 includes database 400. Database 400 may be stored in memory(e.g., storage as described in FIG. 12) on a user equipment device(e.g., user equipment devices 1302, 1304, and/or 1306 (FIG. 13) below).Furthermore, control circuitry 1204, as described below in relation toFIG. 12, may be used to generate database 400 and populate it withvalues.

The media guidance application may retrieve from database 400 of actionscorresponding to context indicators an action corresponding to thecontext indicator associated with the first object. For example, uponretrieving the context indicator that applies to the currently detectedobject, as described above in FIG. 3, the media guidance application mayaccess a database of actions and determine which action corresponds tothe context indicator. For instance, if the media guidance applicationretrieved a context indicator for the arrow in the football game of“4^(th)+10,” the corresponding stored action may instruct the mediaguidance application to skip forward to a different playback point. Theinstructions stored for each action 404 corresponding to contextindicator 402 comprise directions to control circuitry (e.g., controlcircuitry 1204) to manipulate the media asset delivered to the viewer bythe media guidance application in some way. The media guidanceapplication may, for example, skip forward to a different playback pointin a buffer of a media asset, as described below in FIG. 5-6.

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative display of a media guidance applicationdisplaying a media asset in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. For example, display 500 may be presenting a media guidanceapplication displaying media asset 502. Display 500 may appear on one ormore user devices (e.g., any of the devices listed in FIGS. 12-13below). Moreover, the media guidance application may use one or more ofthe processes described in FIGS. 14-24 below to generate display 500 orany of the features described therein.

FIG. 5 includes display 500. Display 500 may appear on a display device(e.g., user equipment devices 1302, 1304, and/or 1306 (FIG. 13) below).Furthermore, control circuitry 1204, as described below in relation toFIG. 12, may be used to generate a display 500. Display 500 includesmedia asset 502 presented by the media guidance application whichincludes time bar 504 with playback position 506. The media guidanceapplication detects, at a future playback position, an object in mediaasset 502 and moves the playback position to the playback position wherethe object appears, as described in FIG. 6 below.

FIG. 6 shows yet another illustrative display of a media guidanceapplication displaying an object on the media asset in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure. For example, display 600 may bepresenting a media guidance application displaying media asset 602.Media asset 602 may be the same media asset as displayed in FIG. 5, butat a different playback position. Display 600 may appear on one or moreuser devices (e.g., any of the devices listed in FIGS. 12-13 below).Moreover, the media guidance application may use one or more of theprocesses described in FIGS. 14-24 below to generate display 600 or anyof the features described therein.

FIG. 6 includes display 600. Display 600 may appear on a display device(e.g., user equipment devices 1302, 1304, and/or 1306 (FIG. 13) below).Furthermore, control circuitry 1204, as described below in relation toFIG. 12, may be used to generate display 600. Display 600 includes mediaasset 602 presented by the media guidance application, which includesobject 604 with context indicator 606. Display 600 also includes timebar 608, which visually represents the playback progress of media asset602.

The media guidance application detects (e.g., as described in FIG. 1-2),at a future playback position, an object in media asset 602 at playbackposition 610 and moves the playback position to the playback position612 where the object 604 appears.

The media guidance application may determine the action associated withthe context indicator 606 (e.g., as described in FIG. 3-4) relates tomoving a current playback position (e.g., playback position 610 which isthe same playback position as playback position 506) to another playbackposition 612 that includes the object 604. For example, the mediaguidance application may determine that the action associated with a“1^(st)+10” arrow object 604 appearing at playback position 612 is tomove the current playback position 610 to the playback position 612 ofthe frame containing the arrow object 604. The media guidanceapplication may determine the another playback position 612 based on theat least one frame containing the object. For example, the mediaguidance application may determine the position of the first of the atleast one frame relative to other frames of the media asset anddetermine the another playback position 612. For instance, the mediaguidance application may determine that the first frame of the at leastone frame corresponds to a playback position of 10 minutes into themedia asset.

The media guidance application may move the current playback position610 to the another playback position 612. For example, the mediaguidance application may move the playback position from the currentplayback position 610, such as 7 minutes into the media asset, to theanother playback position 612, 10 minutes into the media asset. Themedia guidance application may transmit this request to controlcircuitry 1204, which may access the another playback position 612 in abuffer of media asset 602. The media guidance application may then playthe media asset from the another playback position. For example, themedia guidance application may generate for display media asset 602 fromthe 10 minute mark corresponding to the frame where the object wasdetected and continue playback from that position.

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative display of an electronic program guide inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, display700 may be presenting a media guidance application displaying mediaasset listings 702. Display 700 may incorporate the electronic programguide features and listings described below in FIG. 10-11. Display 700may appear on one or more user devices (e.g., any of the devices listedin FIGS. 12-13 below). Moreover, the media guidance application may useone or more of the processes described in FIGS. 14-24 below to generatedisplay 700 or any of the features described therein.

FIG. 7 includes display 700. Display 700 may appear on a display device(e.g., user equipment devices 1302, 1304, and/or 1306 (FIG. 13) below).Furthermore, control circuitry 1204, as described below in relation toFIG. 12, may be used to generate display 700. Display 700 includes mediaasset listings 702 presented by the media guidance application, whichincludes recommended listing 704 and a plurality of ordered listings 714(e.g., by channel number).

The media guidance application may determine that an object appears in afirst media asset, as described above in FIG. 1-2. The media guidanceapplication may then determine the action associated with the contextindicator (e.g., as described in FIG. 3-4) relates to alerting a user toa media asset listing with subject matter that corresponds to the firstobject. For example, the media guidance application may determine that acontext indicator 712 “1^(st)+Goal” for a first object 710, an arrow,displayed in the first media asset is associated with the action toalert the user to a media asset associated with the object, such as acurrently airing game of team ABC. The media guidance application mayretrieve subject matter of the first object 710 from a subject matterfield of the data structure associated with the first object (e.g., asdescribed in FIG. 3). For example, the media guidance application mayretrieve that the subject matter relating to the arrow object with acontext indicator of “1^(st)+Goal” is any program relating to team“ABC.”

The media guidance application may search for a first media assetlisting associated with the retrieved subject matter. For example, themedia guidance application may search a plurality of media assetlistings in an electronic program guide to determine a media assetlisting referring to team “ABC.” The media guidance application maypromote the first media asset listing among a plurality of displayedmedia asset listings. For example, the media guidance application mayreorder the media asset listings such that a “recommended” section atthe top of listings in a program guide displays a media asset listing704 on channel 123, specifically for media asset 706 “ABC v. CDE.” Themedia guidance application may additionally present a visual indication708 of the object 710 and context indicator 712 that appear in the mediaasset. The visual indication may be a screenshot or a portion of themedia asset 706 that contains the object 710.

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative display of a media guidance applicationdisplaying a second media asset and the first media asset in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, display 800 may bepresenting a media guidance application displaying media asset 802.Display 800 may appear on one or more user devices (e.g., any of thedevices listed in FIGS. 12-13 below). Moreover, the media guidanceapplication may use one or more of the processes described in FIGS.14-24 below to generate display 800 or any of the features describedtherein.

FIG. 8 includes display 800. Display 800 may appear on a display device(e.g., user equipment devices 1302, 1304, and/or 1306 (FIG. 13) below).Furthermore, control circuitry 1204, as described below in relation toFIG. 12, may be used to generate display 800. Display 800 includes mediaasset 802, as well as score alert 804 with context indicator 806stating, “ABC+7 pts.”

The media guidance application may determine that an object appears in afirst media asset, as described above in FIG. 1-2. The media guidanceapplication may then determine the action associated with the contextindicator (e.g., as described in FIG. 3-4) relates to presentingsupplemental information related to the object. For example, the mediaguidance application may determine that the object score alert 804 witha context indicator 806 “ABC+7 points” relates to presentingsupplemental information, such as an overlay with a video highlight ofthe play that led to the scoring of points. The media guidanceapplication may retrieve a pointer to a location of supplementalinformation related to the object from a supplemental information fieldof the data structure associated with the object. For example, the mediaguidance application may access the data structure of the “Score Alert”object and then access a supplemental information field, which may bestored in other properties 306, that points to a media content source(e.g, as described in FIG. 13) containing a video highlight of the play.

The media guidance application may access the location of thesupplemental information. For example, the media guidance applicationmay access the media content source where the video highlight is storedvia a communications network (e.g., as described in FIG. 13). The mediaguidance application may retrieve the supplemental information. Forexample, the media guidance application may retrieve a video highlightof media asset 808. The media guidance application may generate asimultaneous display of the media asset and the supplementalinformation. For example, the media guidance application may generatethe video highlight of media asset 808 over a section of media asset802. As another example, the media guidance application could presentstatistics associated with a player or team in media asset 808 over asection of media asset 802.

FIG. 9 shows another illustrative display of a media guidanceapplication displaying a second media asset in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. For example, display 900 may bepresenting a media guidance application displaying media asset 902.Display 900 may appear on one or more user devices (e.g., any of thedevices listed in FIGS. 12-13 below). Moreover, the media guidanceapplication may use one or more of the processes described in FIGS.14-24 below to generate display 900 or any of the features describedtherein.

FIG. 9 includes display 900. Display 900 may appear on a display device(e.g., user equipment devices 1302, 1304, and/or 1306 (FIG. 13) below).Furthermore, control circuitry 1204, as described below in relation toFIG. 12, may be used to generate display 900. Display 900 includes mediaasset 8902, as well as an overlay with data from media asset 904, whichcontains object 906 with context 908.

The media guidance application may determine that an object appears infirst media asset 904, as described above in FIG. 1-2. The mediaguidance application may then determine the action associated withcontext indicator 908 (e.g., as described in FIG. 3-4) relates topresenting first media asset 904 to the user simultaneously with secondmedia asset 902 currently being accessed by the user. For example, themedia guidance application may present a football game as an overlay onthe program the user is currently accessing. The media guidanceapplication may determine the user is not accessing the first mediaasset 904. For example, the media guidance application may determinethat the user is currently viewing a news program. The media guidanceapplication may retrieve the first media asset 904. For example, themedia guidance application may retrieve the football game. The mediaguidance application may generate a simultaneous display of the firstmedia asset 904 and the second media asset 902 currently being accessedby the user. For example, the media guidance application may generatefor display the football game overlaid on a portion of the news program.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application performs a methodfor transmitting a portion of a media asset 904 containing an object 906to a first user. For example, the media guidance application maytransmit a portion of a football program containing an object indicatinga touchdown was scored to the first user on a mobile device.

The media guidance application may determine that the first user is notwatching media asset 904 on any device. In this case, the media guidanceapplication may record, buffer, or receive in some other way the atleast one frame of media asset 904, without generating media asset 904for display.

The media guidance application may determine the first user is notaccessing media asset 904 on any device. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine that all of the user equipment devicesassociated with the first user are either powered down or tuned to adifferent media asset, such as media asset 902 or any other media assetthat is not media asset 904.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve anidentifier of a first user equipment device of a plurality of userequipment devices associated with the first user from the data structurecontaining the user profile associated with the first user. For example,the media guidance application may query, by executing a database querylanguage script, such as SQL utilizing the declarative “Select” command,the data structure containing the user profile of the first user anddetermine there are two set-top boxes connected to televisionsassociated with the user's account.

Further, the media guidance application may then retrieve an identifierof one of the set-top boxes. The media guidance application may access astatus of the first user equipment device. For example, the mediaguidance application may transmit a message to the set-top box to querythe status of tuners contained in the set-top box. The media guidanceapplication may determine, from the status that the first user equipmentdevice is not accessing media asset 904. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine that since each tuner of a set-top box istuned to a different program, the set-top box is not accessing the mediaasset.

The media guidance application may, in response to determining each ofthe plurality of user equipment devices associated with the first useris not accessing the media asset, determine the first user is notaccessing the media asset. For example, if the media guidanceapplication determines that each of the user equipment devices is notreceiving media asset 904, the media guidance application may determinethat the first user is not accessing the first media asset.

The media guidance application may detect a feature in the at least oneframe and compare to objects stored in a database to determine theobject 906 that appears in the football program as described above inFIG. 1-4.

The media guidance application may, in response to determining thefeature corresponds to the first object 906 and the first user is notaccessing media asset 904, store data corresponding to the at least oneframe containing the object in memory. For example, the media guidanceapplication may store a screenshot of the at least one frame containingthe object. As another example, the media guidance application may storea portion of the media asset containing the object. As another example,the media guidance application may store a detailed description or mediaasset listing associated with the object. The media guidance applicationmay determine what data to store based on the data structure associatedwith the object (e.g., the column of a table as described in FIG. 3).For example, the media guidance application may store in otherproperties 306 that if the first user is not watching the media asset inwhich the object is detected, to store certain data.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine afirst playback point in media asset 904 based on a first frame of the atleast one frame containing object 906. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine the position of the first of the at least oneframe relative to other frames of the media asset and determine thefirst playback point. For instance, the media guidance application maydetermine that the first frame of the at least one frame corresponds toa playback point of 10 minutes into the media asset. The media guidanceapplication may store, from the first playback point, the portion of themedia asset in memory. For example, the media guidance application maystore frames of the media asset subsequent to the first frame in memory.The media guidance application may determine a second playback point inthe media asset based on a second frame wherein the second frame doesnot contain object 906. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine the position of the second frame relative to other frames ofthe media asset and determine the second playback point. For instance,the media guidance application may determine that the second framecorresponds to a playback point of 15 minutes into the media asset. Themedia guidance application may cease the storing of the portion of themedia asset in memory at the second playback point.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine, froman information field of a data structure associated with the object, apointer to a location of the information describing media asset 904. Forexample, the media guidance application may access the data structure ofobject 906 and retrieve a pointer that points to media guidance datasource 1318 containing a description of media asset 904, such as thelocation of a football game and the records of both teams.

The media guidance application may access the location of theinformation describing the media asset. For example, the media guidanceapplication may access media guidance data source where the descriptionis stored via communications circuitry. The media guidance applicationmay retrieve the information describing the media asset. For example,the media guidance application may retrieve the description of mediaasset 904.

The media guidance application may store the information describing themedia asset in memory. For example, the media guidance application maystore, in a data structure in a user profile associated with the firstuser, the description of media asset 904.

The media guidance application may retrieve an identifier of a mobiledevice of the first user from a data structure containing a user profileassociated with the first user. For example, the media guidanceapplication may retrieve an identifier of a mobile phone, such astelephone number of the mobile phone, associated with the first user.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may access the datastructure containing the user profile associated with the first user.The media guidance application may then query the data structure todetermine if any mobile devices are associated with the first user. Themedia guidance application may then, in response to determining thefirst mobile device is associated with the first user, retrieve theidentifier of the first mobile device associated with the first user.For example, the media guidance application may retrieve a telephonenumber corresponding to a mobile phone associated with the first user.

The media guidance application may transmit, to the mobile deviceassociated with the first user, the stored data corresponding to the atleast one frame containing the object. For example, the media guidanceapplication may transmit a text message to the first user's mobile phonecontaining the stored data, or alternatively, a link to the stored data.As another example, the media guidance application may transmit thestored data to an email account, which may be opened on a mobile device.The media guidance application may transmit the stored data to anotherinstance of the media guidance application executed by control circuitryon another user equipment device (e.g., user equipment devices 1302,1304, and/or 1306 (FIG. 13) below).

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine thefirst mobile device has not received the transmitted stored data. Forexample, the media guidance application may request a receipt oftransmission from the first mobile device. After not receiving anindication the transmission was successful in a threshold period oftime, the media guidance application may determine the first mobiledevice has not received the stored data. For example, if the thresholdperiod of time is 5 minutes and the media guidance application has notreceived a data packet or other transmission from the first mobiledevice acknowledging a successful transfer, the media guidanceapplication may determine the first mobile device has not received thestored data.

In response, the media guidance application may query the data structurecontaining the user profile associated with the first user for a secondmobile device associated with the first user. For example, the mediaguidance application may query the data structure and determine a secondmobile phone is associated with the first user. The media guidanceapplication may then retrieve an identifier, such as a telephone number,of a second mobile phone associated with the first user. The mediaguidance application may, in response to determining the second mobiledevice associated with the first user, transmit the stored datacorresponding to the at least one frame containing the object to thesecond mobile device. For example, the media guidance application maytransmit the stored data to the second mobile phone associated with thefirst user.

In some embodiments, in response to the mobile device receiving thetransmission of the stored data, the media guidance application maygenerate for display on the mobile device an identifier of the mediaasset. For example, the media guidance application may generate fordisplay an identifier of media asset 904, such as “Football Game,”corresponding to object 906 stored in database 300, as described abovein FIG. 3.

The media guidance application may generate for display on the mobiledevice a selectable option to access the stored data. For example, themedia guidance application may generate for display an option to openthe received stored data. In response to the first user selecting theoption to access the stored data, the media guidance application maygenerate for display the stored data on the mobile device. For example,the media guidance application may generate for display a portion ofmedia asset 904 containing object 906.

The amount of content available to users in any given content deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate content selections and easily identify content that they maydesire. An application that provides such guidance is referred to hereinas an interactive media guidance application or, sometimes, a mediaguidance application or a guidance application.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the content for which they provide guidance. One typical type ofmedia guidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to aselectronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that,among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many typesof content or media assets. Interactive media guidance applications maygenerate graphical user interface screens that enable a user to navigateamong, locate and select content. As referred to herein, the terms“media asset” and “content” should be understood to mean anelectronically consumable user asset, such as television programming, aswell as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand(VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming content, downloadablecontent, Webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio, content information,pictures, rotating images, documents, playlists, websites, articles,books, electronic books, blogs, chat sessions, social media,applications, games, and/or any other media or multimedia and/orcombination of the same. Guidance applications also allow users tonavigate among and locate content. As referred to herein, the term“multimedia” should be understood to mean content that utilizes at leasttwo different content forms described above, for example, text, audio,images, video, or interactivity content forms. Content may be recorded,played, displayed or accessed by user equipment devices, but can also bepart of a live performance.

The media guidance application and/or any instructions for performingany of the embodiments discussed herein may be encoded on computerreadable media. Computer readable media includes any media capable ofstoring data. The computer readable media may be transitory, including,but not limited to, propagating electrical or electromagnetic signals,or may be non-transitory including, but not limited to, volatile andnon-volatile computer memory or storage devices such as a hard disk,floppy disk, USB drive, DVD, CD, media cards, register memory, processorcaches, Random Access Memory (“RAM”), etc.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are accessing media on user equipment deviceson which they traditionally did not. As referred to herein, the phrase“user equipment device,” “user equipment,” “user device,” “electronicdevice,” “electronic equipment,” “media equipment device,” or “mediadevice” should be understood to mean any device for accessing thecontent described above, such as a television, a Smart TV, a set-topbox, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellitetelevision, a digital storage device, a digital media receiver (DMR), adigital media adapter (DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, aDVD recorder, a connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY player, aBLU-RAY recorder, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PCmedia server, a PC media center, a hand-held computer, a stationarytelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, aportable video player, a portable music player, a portable gamingmachine, a smart phone, or any other television equipment, computingequipment, or wireless device, and/or combination of the same. In someembodiments, the user equipment device may have a front facing screenand a rear facing screen, multiple front screens, or multiple angledscreens. In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a frontfacing camera and/or a rear facing camera. On these user equipmentdevices, users may be able to navigate among and locate the same contentavailable through a television. Consequently, media guidance may beavailable on these devices, as well. The guidance provided may be forcontent available only through a television, for content available onlythrough one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or forcontent available both through a television and one or more of the othertypes of user equipment devices. The media guidance applications may beprovided as on-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or asstand-alone applications or clients on user equipment devices. Variousdevices and platforms that may implement media guidance applications aredescribed in more detail below.

One of the functions of the media guidance application is to providemedia guidance data to users. As referred to herein, the phrase “mediaguidance data” or “guidance data” should be understood to mean any datarelated to content or data used in operating the guidance application.For example, the guidance data may include program information, guidanceapplication settings, user preferences, user profile information, medialistings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times, broadcastchannels, titles, descriptions, ratings information (e.g., parentalcontrol ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or category information,actor information, logo data for broadcasters' or providers' logos,etc.), media format (e.g., standard definition, high definition, 3D,etc.), on-demand information, blogs, websites, and any other type ofguidance data that is helpful for a user to navigate among and locatedesired content selections.

FIGS. 10-11 show illustrative display screens that may be used toprovide media guidance data. The display screens shown in FIGS. 10-11may be implemented on any suitable user equipment device or platform.While the displays of FIGS. 10-11 are illustrated as full screendisplays, they may also be fully or partially overlaid over contentbeing displayed. A user may indicate a desire to access contentinformation by selecting a selectable option provided in a displayscreen (e.g., a menu option, a listings option, an icon, a hyperlink,etc.) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remotecontrol or other user input interface or device. In response to theuser's indication, the media guidance application may provide a displayscreen with media guidance data organized in one of several ways, suchas by time and channel in a grid, by time, by channel, by source, bycontent type, by category (e.g., movies, sports, news, children, orother categories of programming), or other predefined, user-defined, orother organization criteria.

FIG. 10 shows illustrative grid of a media asset listings display 1000arranged by time and channel that also enables access to different typesof content in a single display. Display 1000 may include grid 1002 with:(1) a column of channel/content type identifiers 1004, where eachchannel/content type identifier (which is a cell in the column)identifies a different channel or content type available; and (2) a rowof time identifiers 1006, where each time identifier (which is a cell inthe row) identifies a time block of programming. Grid 1002 also includescells of media asset listings, such as media asset listing 1008, whereeach listing provides the title of the program provided on the listing'sassociated channel and time. With a user input device, a user can selectmedia asset listings by moving highlight region 1010. Informationrelating to the media asset listing selected by highlight region 1010may be provided in program information region 1012. Region 1012 mayinclude, for example, the program title, the program description, thetime the program is provided (if applicable), the channel the program ison (if applicable), the program's rating, and other desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g., contentthat is scheduled to be transmitted to a plurality of user equipmentdevices at a predetermined time and is provided according to aschedule), the media guidance application also provides access tonon-linear programming (e.g., content accessible to a user equipmentdevice at any time and is not provided according to a schedule).Non-linear programming may include content from different contentsources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g.,streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored content(e.g., content stored on any user equipment device described above orother storage device), or other time-independent content. On-demandcontent may include movies or any other content provided by a particularcontent provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “CurbYour Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time WarnerCompany L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM aretrademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content mayinclude web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or contentavailable on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content throughan Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).

Grid 1002 may provide media guidance data for non-linear programmingincluding on-demand listing 1014, recorded content listing 1016, andInternet content listing 1018. A display combining media guidance datafor content from different types of content sources is sometimesreferred to as a “mixed-media” display. Various permutations of thetypes of media guidance data that may be displayed that are differentthan display 1000 may be based on user selection or guidance applicationdefinition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings,only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings1014, 1016, and 1018 are shown as spanning the entire time blockdisplayed in grid 1002 to indicate that selection of these listings mayprovide access to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recordedlistings, or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments,listings for these content types may be included directly in grid 1002.Additional media guidance data may be displayed in response to the userselecting one of the navigational icons 1020. (Pressing an arrow key ona user input device may affect the display in a similar manner asselecting navigational icons 1020.)

Display 1000 may also include video region 1022, and options region1026. Video region 1022 may allow the user to view and/or previewprograms that are currently available, will be available, or wereavailable to the user. The content of video region 1022 may correspondto, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed in grid 1002.Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referred to aspicture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and their functionalitiesare described in greater detail in Satterfield et al. U.S. Pat. No.6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,794,issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated by reference hereinin their entireties. PIG displays may be included in other mediaguidance application display screens of the embodiments describedherein.

Options region 1026 may allow the user to access different types ofcontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 1026 may be part of display 1000(and other display screens described herein), or may be invoked by auser by selecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated orassignable button on a user input device. The selectable options withinoptions region 1026 may concern features related to media asset listingsin grid 1002 or may include options available from a main menu display.Features related to media asset listings may include searching for otherair times or ways of receiving a program, recording a program, enablingseries recording of a program, setting program and/or channel as afavorite, purchasing a program, or other features. Options availablefrom a main menu display may include search options, VOD options,parental control options, Internet options, cloud-based options, devicesynchronization options, second screen device options, options to accessvarious types of media guidance data displays, options to subscribe to apremium service, options to edit a user's profile, options to access abrowse overlay, or other options.

The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user'spreferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user tocustomize displays and features to create a personalized “experience”with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may becreated by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by themedia guidance application monitoring user activity to determine varioususer preferences. Users may access their personalized guidanceapplication by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to theguidance application. Customization of the media guidance applicationmay be made in accordance with a user profile. The customizations mayinclude varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays,font size of text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g.,only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channelsbased on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display ofchannels, recommended content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g.,recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality,etc.), parental control settings, customized presentation of Internetcontent (e.g., presentation of social media content, e-mail,electronically delivered articles, etc.) and other desiredcustomizations.

The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profileinformation or may automatically compile user profile information. Themedia guidance application may, for example, monitor the content theuser accesses and/or other interactions the user may have with theguidance application. Additionally, the media guidance application mayobtain all or part of other user profiles that are related to aparticular user (e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the useraccesses, such as www.allrovi.com, from other media guidanceapplications the user accesses, from other interactive applications theuser accesses, from another user equipment device of the user, etc.),and/or obtain information about the user from other sources that themedia guidance application may access. As a result, a user can beprovided with a unified guidance application experience across theuser's different user equipment devices. This type of user experience isdescribed in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 13. Additionalpersonalized media guidance application features are described ingreater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. Pat. No.7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2002/0174430, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 11. Video mosaic display 1100 includes selectable options 1102 forcontent information organized based on content type, genre, and/or otherorganization criteria. In display 1100, television listings option 1104is selected, thus providing listings 1106, 1108, 1110, and 1112 asbroadcast media asset listings. In display 1100 the listings may providegraphical images including cover art, still images from the content,video clip previews, live video from the content, or other types ofcontent that indicate to a user the content being described by the mediaguidance data in the listing. Each of the graphical listings may also beaccompanied by text to provide further information about the contentassociated with the listing. For example, listing 1108 may include morethan one portion, including media portion 1114 and text portion 1116.Media portion 1114 and/or text portion 1116 may be selectable to viewcontent in full-screen or to view information related to the contentdisplayed in media portion 1114 (e.g., to view listings for the channelthat the video is displayed on).

The listings in display 1100 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 1106is larger than listings 1108, 1110, and 1112), but if desired, all thelistings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes orgraphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user orto emphasize certain content, as desired by the content provider orbased on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphicallyaccentuating content listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Nov. 12, 2009,which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Users may access content and the media guidance application (and itsdisplay screens described above and below) from one or more of theiruser equipment devices. FIG. 12 shows a generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment device 1200. More specific implementationsof user equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG.13. User equipment device 1200 may receive content and data viainput/output (hereinafter “I/O”) path 1202. I/O path 1202 may providecontent (e.g., broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internetcontent, content available over a local area network (LAN) or wide areanetwork (WAN), and/or other content) and data to control circuitry 1204,which includes processing circuitry 1206 and storage 1208. Controlcircuitry 1204 may be used to send and receive commands, requests, andother suitable data using I/O path 1202. I/O path 1202 may connectcontrol circuitry 1204 (and specifically processing circuitry 1206) toone or more communications paths (described below). I/O functions may beprovided by one or more of these communications paths, but are shown asa single path in FIG. 12 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Control circuitry 1204 may be based on any suitable processing circuitrysuch as processing circuitry 1206. As referred to herein, processingcircuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors,programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may includea multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or anysuitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments,processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separateprocessors or processing units, for example, multiple of the same typeof processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multipledifferent processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Corei7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 1204 executesinstructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e.,storage 1208). Specifically, control circuitry 1204 may be instructed bythe media guidance application to perform the functions discussed aboveand below. For example, the media guidance application may provideinstructions to control circuitry 1204 to generate the media guidancedisplays. In some implementations, any action performed by controlcircuitry 1204 may be based on instructions received from the mediaguidance application.

In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 1204 may includecommunications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidanceapplication server or other networks or servers. The instructions forcarrying out the above mentioned functionality may be stored on theguidance application server. Communications circuitry may include acable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, adigital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, Ethernet card,or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment, or anyother suitable communications circuitry. Such communications may involvethe Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths(which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 13). Inaddition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that enablespeer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or communicationof user equipment devices in locations remote from each other (describedin more detail below).

Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage 1208 thatis part of control circuitry 1204. As referred to herein, the phrase“electronic storage device” or “storage device” should be understood tomean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, orfirmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives,optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD)recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders,digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personal videorecorder, or PVR), solid state devices, quantum storage devices, gamingconsoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storagedevices, and/or any combination of the same. Storage 1208 may be used tostore various types of content described herein as well as mediaguidance data described above. Nonvolatile memory may also be used(e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Cloud-basedstorage, described in relation to FIG. 13, may be used to supplementstorage 1208 or instead of storage 1208. For example, storage 1208 maybe used to store a database of objects with data structures associatedwith each object. The database of objects may be stored in cloud-basedstorage, so that local copies of the database (e.g., stored in storage1208) are not needed, thus saving storage on user equipment devices(e.g., any of the user equipment devices discussed in FIG. 13).

Control circuitry 1204 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided.Control circuitry 1204 may also include scaler circuitry forupconverting and downconverting content into the preferred output formatof the user equipment 1200. Circuitry 1204 may also includedigital-to-analog converter circuitry and analog-to-digital convertercircuitry for converting between digital and analog signals. The tuningand encoding circuitry may be used by the user equipment device toreceive and to display, to play, or to record content. The tuning andencoding circuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. Thecircuitry described herein, including for example, the tuning, videogenerating, encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, scaler, andanalog/digital circuitry, may be implemented using software running onone or more general purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tunersmay be provided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch andrecord functions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tunerrecording, etc.). If storage 1208 is provided as a separate device fromuser equipment 1200, the tuning and encoding circuitry (includingmultiple tuners) may be associated with storage 1208.

A user may send instructions to control circuitry 1204 using user inputinterface 1210. User input interface 1210 may be any suitable userinterface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard,touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognitioninterface, or other user input interfaces. Display 1212 may be providedas a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of userequipment device 1200. For example, display 1212 may be a touchscreen ortouch-sensitive display. In such circumstances, user input interface1210 may be integrated with or combined with display 1212. Display 1212may be one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display(LCD) for a mobile device, amorphous silicon display, low temperaturepoly silicon display, electronic ink display, electrophoretic display,active matrix display, electro-wetting display, electrofluidic display,cathode ray tube display, light-emitting diode display,electroluminescent display, plasma display panel, high-performanceaddressing display, thin-film transistor display, organic light-emittingdiode display, surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED), lasertelevision, carbon nanotubes, quantum dot display, interferometricmodulator display, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visualimages. In some embodiments, display 1212 may be HDTV-capable. In someembodiments, display 1212 may be a 3D display, and the interactive mediaguidance application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. Avideo card or graphics card may generate the output to the display 1212.The video card may offer various functions such as accelerated renderingof 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or theability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be anyprocessing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry1204. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 1204.Speakers 1214 may be provided as integrated with other elements of userequipment device 1200 or may be stand-alone units. The audio componentof videos and other content displayed on display 1212 may be playedthrough speakers 1214. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributedto a receiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio viaspeakers 1214.

The guidance application may be implemented using any suitablearchitecture. For example, the guidance application may be a stand-aloneapplication wholly-implemented on user equipment device 1200. In such anapproach, instructions of the application are stored locally (e.g., instorage 1208), and data for use by the application is downloaded on aperiodic basis (e.g., from an out-of-band feed, from an Internetresource, or using another suitable approach). Control circuitry 1204may retrieve instructions of the application from storage 1208 andprocess the instructions to generate any of the displays discussedherein. Based on the processed instructions, control circuitry 1204 maydetermine what action to perform when input is received from inputinterface 1210. For example, movement of a cursor on a display up/downmay be indicated by the processed instructions when input interface 1210indicates that an up/down button was selected.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is a client-serverbased application. Data for use by a thick or thin client implemented onuser equipment device 1200 is retrieved on-demand by issuing requests toa server remote to the user equipment device 1200. In one example of aclient-server based guidance application, control circuitry 1204 runs aweb browser that interprets web pages provided by a remote server. Forexample, the remote server may store the instructions for theapplication in a storage device. The remote server may process thestored instructions using circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 1204) andgenerate the displays discussed above and below. The client device mayreceive the displays generated by the remote server and may display thecontent of the displays locally on equipment device 1200. This way, theprocessing of the instructions is performed remotely by the server whilethe resulting displays are provided locally on equipment device 1200.Equipment device 1200 may receive inputs from the user via inputinterface 1210 and transmit those inputs to the remote server forprocessing and generating the corresponding displays. For example,equipment device 1200 may transmit a communication to the remote serverindicating that an up/down button was selected via input interface 1210.The remote server may process instructions in accordance with that inputand generate a display of the application corresponding to the input(e.g., a display that moves a cursor up/down). The generated display isthen transmitted to equipment device 1200 for presentation to the user.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is downloaded andinterpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine (runby control circuitry 1204). In some embodiments, the guidanceapplication may be encoded in the ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF),received by control circuitry 1204 as part of a suitable feed, andinterpreted by a user agent running on control circuitry 1204. Forexample, the guidance application may be an EBIF application. In someembodiments, the guidance application may be defined by a series ofJAVA-based files that are received and run by a local virtual machine orother suitable middleware executed by control circuitry 1204. In some ofsuch embodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital mediaencoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example, encodedand transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG audio andvideo packets of a program.

User equipment device 1200 of FIG. 12 can be implemented in system 1300of FIG. 13 as user television equipment 1302, user computer equipment1304, wireless user communications device 1306, or any other type ofuser equipment suitable for accessing content, such as a non-portablegaming machine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to hereincollectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and may besubstantially similar to user equipment devices described above. Userequipment devices, on which a media guidance application may beimplemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of anetwork of devices. Various network configurations of devices may beimplemented and are discussed in more detail below.

A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system featuresdescribed above in connection with FIG. 12 may not be classified solelyas user television equipment 1302, user computer equipment 1304, or awireless user communications device 1306. For example, user televisionequipment 1302 may, like some user computer equipment 1304, beInternet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while usercomputer equipment 1304 may, like some television equipment 1302,include a tuner allowing for access to television programming. The mediaguidance application may have the same layout on various different typesof user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of theuser equipment. For example, on user computer equipment 1304, theguidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a webbrowser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled downfor wireless user communications devices 1306.

In system 1300, there is typically more than one of each type of userequipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 13 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize morethan one type of user equipment device and also more than one of eachtype of user equipment device.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., user televisionequipment 1302, user computer equipment 1304, wireless usercommunications device 1306) may be referred to as a “second screendevice.” For example, a second screen device may supplement contentpresented on a first user equipment device. The content presented on thesecond screen device may be any suitable content that supplements thecontent presented on the first device. In some embodiments, the secondscreen device provides an interface for adjusting settings and displaypreferences of the first device. In some embodiments, the second screendevice is configured for interacting with other second screen devices orfor interacting with a social network. The second screen device can belocated in the same room as the first device, a different room from thefirst device but in the same house or building, or in a differentbuilding from the first device.

The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent mediaguidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices.Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and programfavorites, programming preferences that the guidance applicationutilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences, andother desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channelas a favorite on, for example, the web site www.allrovi.com on theirpersonal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as afavorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipmentand user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, ifdesired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device can changethe guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless ofwhether they are the same or a different type of user equipment device.In addition, the changes made may be based on settings input by a user,as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network1314. Namely, user television equipment 1302, user computer equipment1304, and wireless user communications device 1306 are coupled tocommunications network 1314 via communications paths 1308, 1310, and1312, respectively. Communications network 1314 may be one or morenetworks including the Internet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice ordata network (e.g., a 4G or LTE network), cable network, public switchedtelephone network, or other types of communications network orcombinations of communications networks. Paths 1308, 1310, and 1312 mayseparately or together include one or more communications paths, suchas, a satellite path, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, a path thatsupports Internet communications (e.g., IPTV), free-space connections(e.g., for broadcast or other wireless signals), or any other suitablewired or wireless communications path or combination of such paths. Path1312 is drawn with dotted lines to indicate that in the exemplaryembodiment shown in FIG. 13 it is a wireless path and paths 1308 and1310 are drawn as solid lines to indicate they are wired paths (althoughthese paths may be wireless paths, if desired). Communications with theuser equipment devices may be provided by one or more of thesecommunications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 13 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipmentdevices, these devices may communicate directly with each other viacommunication paths, such as those described above in connection withpaths 1308, 1310, and 1312, as well as other short-range point-to-pointcommunication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wirelesspaths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or othershort-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is acertification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipmentdevices may also communicate with each other directly through anindirect path via communications network 1314.

System 1300 includes content source 1316 and media guidance data source1318 coupled to communications network 1314 via communication paths 1320and 1322, respectively. Paths 1320 and 1322 may include any of thecommunication paths described above in connection with paths 1308, 1310,and 1312. Communications with the content source 1316 and media guidancedata source 1318 may be exchanged over one or more communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 13 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of contentsource 1316 and media guidance data source 1318, but only one of each isshown in FIG. 13 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The differenttypes of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, contentsource 1316 and media guidance data source 1318 may be integrated as onesource device. Although communications between sources 1316 and 1318with user equipment devices 1302, 1304, and 1306 are shown as throughcommunications network 1314, in some embodiments, sources 1316 and 1318may communicate directly with user equipment devices 1302, 1304, and1306 via communication paths (not shown) such as those described abovein connection with paths 1308, 1310, and 1312.

Content source 1316 may include one or more types of contentdistribution equipment including a television distribution facility,cable system headend, satellite distribution facility, programmingsources (e.g., television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.),intermediate distribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers,on-demand media servers, and other content providers. NBC is a trademarkowned by the National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademarkowned by the American Broadcasting Company, Inc., and HBO is a trademarkowned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Content source 1316 may be theoriginator of content (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcastprovider, etc.) or may not be the originator of content (e.g., anon-demand content provider, an Internet provider of content of broadcastprograms for downloading, etc.). Content source 1316 may include cablesources, satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers,over-the-top content providers, or other providers of content. Contentsource 1316 may also include a remote media server used to storedifferent types of content (including video content selected by a user),in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems andmethods for remote storage of content, and providing remotely storedcontent to user equipment are discussed in greater detail in connectionwith Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,892, issued Jul. 20, 2010, whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Media guidance data source 1318 may provide media guidance data, such asthe media guidance data described above. Media guidance data may beprovided to the user equipment devices using any suitable approach. Insome embodiments, the guidance application may be a stand-aloneinteractive television program guide that receives program guide datavia a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed or trickle feed). Programschedule data and other guidance data may be provided to the userequipment on a television channel sideband, using an in-band digitalsignal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitabledata transmission technique. Program schedule data and other mediaguidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog ordigital television channels.

In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data source 1318may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. Forexample, a user equipment device may pull media guidance data from aserver, or a server may push media guidance data to a user equipmentdevice. In some embodiments, a guidance application client residing onthe user's equipment may initiate sessions with source 1318 to obtainguidance data when needed, e.g., when the guidance data is out of dateor when the user equipment device receives a request from the user toreceive data. Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment withany suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specifiedperiod of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to arequest from user equipment, etc.). Media guidance data source 1318 mayprovide user equipment devices 1302, 1304, and 1306 the media guidanceapplication itself or software updates for the media guidanceapplication.

In some embodiments, the media guidance data may include viewer data.For example, the viewer data may include current and/or historical useractivity information (e.g., what content the user typically watches,what times of day the user watches content, whether the user interactswith a social network, at what times the user interacts with a socialnetwork to post information, what types of content the user typicallywatches (e.g., pay TV or free TV), mood, brain activity information,etc.). The media guidance data may also include subscription data. Forexample, the subscription data may identify to which sources or servicesa given user subscribes and/or to which sources or services the givenuser has previously subscribed but later terminated access (e.g.,whether the user subscribes to premium channels, whether the user hasadded a premium level of services, whether the user has increasedInternet speed). In some embodiments, the viewer data and/or thesubscription data may identify patterns of a given user for a period ofmore than one year. The media guidance data may include a model (e.g., asurvivor model) used for generating a score that indicates a likelihooda given user will terminate access to a service/source. For example, themedia guidance application may process the viewer data with thesubscription data using the model to generate a value or score thatindicates a likelihood of whether the given user will terminate accessto a particular service or source. In particular, a higher score mayindicate a higher level of confidence that the user will terminateaccess to a particular service or source. Based on the score, the mediaguidance application may generate promotions that entice the user tokeep the particular service or source indicated by the score as one towhich the user will likely terminate access.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on user equipment devices. For example, themedia guidance application may be implemented as software or a set ofexecutable instructions which may be stored in storage 1208, andexecuted by control circuitry 1204 of a user equipment device 1200. Insome embodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only a client application resides on the userequipment device, and server application resides on a remote server. Forexample, media guidance applications may be implemented partially as aclient application on control circuitry 1204 of user equipment device1200 and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g.,media guidance data source 1318) running on control circuitry of theremote server. When executed by control circuitry of the remote server(such as media guidance data source 1318), the media guidanceapplication may instruct the control circuitry to generate the guidanceapplication displays and transmit the generated displays to the userequipment devices. The server application may instruct the controlcircuitry of the media guidance data source 1318 to transmit data forstorage on the user equipment. The client application may instructcontrol circuitry of the receiving user equipment to generate theguidance application displays.

Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user equipment devices1302, 1304, and 1306 may be over-the-top (OTT) content. OTT contentdelivery allows Internet-enabled user devices, including any userequipment device described above, to receive content that is transferredover the Internet, including any content described above, in addition tocontent received over cable or satellite connections. OTT content isdelivered via an Internet connection provided by an Internet serviceprovider (ISP), but a third party distributes the content. The ISP maynot be responsible for the viewing abilities, copyrights, orredistribution of the content, and may only transfer IP packets providedby the OTT content provider. Examples of OTT content providers includeYOUTUBE, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IPpackets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is atrademark owned by Netflix Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by Hulu,LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively providemedia guidance data described above. In addition to content and/or mediaguidance data, providers of OTT content can distribute media guidanceapplications (e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications),or the content can be displayed by media guidance applications stored onthe user equipment device.

Media guidance system 1300 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devicesand sources of content and guidance data may communicate with each otherfor the purpose of accessing content and providing media guidance. Theembodiments described herein may be applied in any one or a subset ofthese approaches, or in a system employing other approaches fordelivering content and providing media guidance. The following fourapproaches provide specific illustrations of the generalized example ofFIG. 13.

In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each otherwithin a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with eachother directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemesdescribed above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similardevice provided on a home network, or via communications network 1314.Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate differentuser equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may bedesirable for various media guidance information or settings to becommunicated between the different user equipment devices. For example,it may be desirable for users to maintain consistent media guidanceapplication settings on different user equipment devices within a homenetwork, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. PatentPublication No. 2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different types ofuser equipment devices in a home network may also communicate with eachother to transmit content. For example, a user may transmit content fromuser computer equipment to a portable video player or portable musicplayer.

In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment bywhich they access content and obtain media guidance. For example, someusers may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobiledevices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidanceapplication implemented on a remote device. For example, users mayaccess an online media guidance application on a website via a personalcomputer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA orweb-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g.,recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guidemay control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with amedia guidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Varioussystems and methods for user equipment devices communicating, where theuser equipment devices are in locations remote from each other, isdiscussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issuedOct. 25, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outsidea home can use their media guidance application to communicate directlywith content source 1316 to access content. Specifically, within a home,users of user television equipment 1302 and user computer equipment 1304may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locatedesirable content. Users may also access the media guidance applicationoutside of the home using wireless user communications devices 1306 tonavigate among and locate desirable content.

In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate in a cloudcomputing environment to access cloud services. In a cloud computingenvironment, various types of computing services for content sharing,storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites or social networkingsites) are provided by a collection of network-accessible computing andstorage resources, referred to as “the cloud.” For example, the cloudcan include a collection of server computing devices, which may belocated centrally or at distributed locations, that provide cloud-basedservices to various types of users and devices connected via a networksuch as the Internet via communications network 1314. These cloudresources may include one or more content sources 1316 and one or moremedia guidance data sources 1318. In addition or in the alternative, theremote computing sites may include other user equipment devices, such asuser television equipment 1302, user computer equipment 1304, andwireless user communications device 1306. For example, the other userequipment devices may provide access to a stored copy of a video or astreamed video. In such embodiments, user equipment devices may operatein a peer-to-peer manner without communicating with a central server.

The cloud provides access to services, such as content storage, contentsharing, or social networking services, among other examples, as well asaccess to any content described above, for user equipment devices.Services can be provided in the cloud through cloud computing serviceproviders, or through other providers of online services. For example,the cloud-based services can include a content storage service, acontent sharing site, a social networking site, or other services viawhich user-sourced content is distributed for viewing by others onconnected devices. These cloud-based services may allow a user equipmentdevice to store content to the cloud and to receive content from thecloud rather than storing content locally and accessing locally-storedcontent.

A user may use various content capture devices, such as camcorders,digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders, mobile phones, andhandheld computing devices, to record content. The user can uploadcontent to a content storage service on the cloud either directly, forexample, from user computer equipment 1304 or wireless usercommunications device 1306 having content capture feature.Alternatively, the user can first transfer the content to a userequipment device, such as user computer equipment 1304. The userequipment device storing the content uploads the content to the cloudusing a data transmission service on communications network 1314. Insome embodiments, the user equipment device itself is a cloud resource,and other user equipment devices can access the content directly fromthe user equipment device on which the user stored the content.

Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device using, forexample, a web browser, a media guidance application, a desktopapplication, a mobile application, and/or any combination of accessapplications of the same. The user equipment device may be a cloudclient that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or theuser equipment device may have some functionality without access tocloud resources. For example, some applications running on the userequipment device may be cloud applications, i.e., applications deliveredas a service over the Internet, while other applications may be storedand run on the user equipment device. In some embodiments, a user devicemay receive content from multiple cloud resources simultaneously. Forexample, a user device can stream audio from one cloud resource whiledownloading content from a second cloud resource. Or a user device candownload content from multiple cloud resources for more efficientdownloading. In some embodiments, user equipment devices can use cloudresources for processing operations such as the processing operationsperformed by processing circuitry described in relation to FIG. 12.

As referred herein, the term “in response to” refers to initiated as aresult of. For example, a first action being performed in response to asecond action may include interstitial steps between the first actionand the second action. As referred herein, the term “directly inresponse to” refers to caused by. For example, a first action beingperformed directly in response to a second action may not includeinterstitial steps between the first action and the second action.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for performing an actionbased on context of a feature in a media asset in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. Process 1400 may be used to determine anaction to perform based on the context of a feature detected in a mediaasset. It should be noted that process 1400 or any step thereof, couldoccur on, or be provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 12-13.For example, process 1400 may be executed by control circuitry 1204 asinstructed by the media guidance application (e.g., implemented on anyof the devices shown and described in FIG. 13).

Process 1400 begins at 1402, where the media guidance application maystore a plurality of objects. For example, the media guidanceapplication may maintain a database stored in memory (e.g., storage1208) of objects containing information about media assets they commonlyapply to, contexts where the objects appear, and properties of theobjects. For example, the media guidance application may organize theobjects into a table where each column describes properties of anobject, as described in detail in FIG. 3.

Process 1400 may continue to 1404, where the media guidance applicationmay receive at least one frame of a media asset. For example, the mediaguidance application may record an entire football game in memory (e.g.,storage 1208) and examine each of the frames of the game for an object.Alternatively, the media guidance application may examine the frames oflive programming for objects as the frames are received. For example,the media guidance application may examine each frame as the frame ispresented on a display (e.g., display 1212) for objects. Alternatively,the media guidance application may store a buffer of live programmingsuch that a number of frames before the currently displayed frame, afterthe currently displayed frame, or both, are analyzed to determine if anyof the frames contain objects. For example, the media guidanceapplication may maintain a buffer of ten frames in memory (e.g., instorage 1208), such that a display (e.g., display 1212) displays theeleventh most recently received frame and the ten more recently receivedframes are analyzed by the media guidance application for objects.

Process 1400 may continue to 1406, where the media guidance applicationmay determine a feature in the at least one frame of the media asset.For example, the media guidance application may determine that a feature(e.g., arrow feature 104) is present in the at least one frame of themedia asset (e.g., media asset 102). In some embodiments, the mediaguidance application may determine the feature by examining the patternsof particular subsets of pixels in the at least one frame of the mediaasset (e.g., media asset 102), as described further in FIG. 16. In otherembodiments, the media guidance application may determine the feature byanalyzing patterns in the waveform of an audio track. For example, themedia guidance application may determine that the appearance ofparticular frequencies that appear in a repeated pattern in the mediaasset (e.g., media asset 102) corresponds to a feature. The mediaguidance application may store the patterns associated with features inmemory (e.g., storage 1208).

Process 1400 may continue to 1408, where the media guidance applicationmay compare the feature to each of the stored plurality of objects toidentify a first object of the stored plurality of objects thatcorresponds to the feature. For example, in response to determining thatthe at least one frame contains the feature (e.g., arrow feature 104),the media guidance application may compare the properties of the feature(e.g., arrow feature 104) with the properties of objects stored inmemory (e.g., storage 1208). The media guidance application may comparethe feature to objects based on the genre, channel, or othercommonalities of media assets for which the media guidance applicationhas defined a library of objects, as described further in FIG. 17. Themedia guidance application may then determine whether the feature (e.g.,arrow feature 104) corresponds to an arrow object stored in memory(e.g., storage 1208).

Process 1400 may continue to 1410, where the media guidance applicationmay retrieve, from a context field of a data structure associated withthe first object, a context indicator associated with the first object.For example, the media guidance application may store in the datastructure associated with the arrow object context indicators such as“1^(st)+10” or “3^(rd)+Goal,” which indicate the context of the arrow inthe football game. Context indicators could additionally be anycharacteristic that relates to the object, such as its color, asdescribed further in FIG. 18.

Process 1400 may continue to 1412, where the media guidance applicationmay retrieve from a database of actions corresponding to contextindicators an action corresponding to the context indicator associatedwith the first object. For example, upon determining the contextindicator (e.g., context indicator 106) that applies to the currentlydetected object, the media guidance application may access a database ofactions stored in memory (e.g., storage 1208), and determine whichaction corresponds to the context indicator, as described further inFIG. 18 below. For instance, the media guidance application may retrievea context indicator for the feature (e.g., arrow 104) in the media asset(e.g., media asset 102) of “1^(st)+10;” the corresponding stored actionmay instruct the media guidance application to skip to this point in arecording once the object is detected, since “1^(st)+10” represents thebeginning of a set of downs in a football game, which likely correspondsto action the user will find entertaining.

Process 1400 may continue to 1414, where the media guidance applicationmay perform the action corresponding with the context indicatorassociated with the first object. For example, upon retrieving from adatabase containing objects stored in memory (e.g., storage 1208) thatthe action associated with “1^(st)+10” is to move to that playbackpoint, the media guidance application may execute instructions to moveto the playback point of the feature (e.g., arrow 104) with a contextindicator (e.g., context indicator 106), “1^(st)+10,” as describedfurther in FIG. 19.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for storing the pluralityof objects in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.Process 1500 may be used to define features and properties of an objectand store the object in memory (e.g., storage 1208) so that the objectmay be detected by the media guidance application. It should be notedthat process 1500 or any step thereof, could occur on, or be providedby, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 12-13. For example, process 1500may be executed by control circuitry 1204 as instructed by the mediaguidance application (e.g., implemented on any of the devices shown anddescribed in FIG. 13).

Process 1500 begins at 1502, where the media guidance application maybegin a process for storing the plurality of objects. For example, themedia guidance application may display (e.g., on display 1212) a newobject creation screen, as described in FIG. 2, where the user maydefine properties of a new object. Alternatively, the media guidanceapplication may automatically define new objects based on observingsimilar properties of pixels in frames of media assets.

Process 1500 may continue to 1504, where the media guidance applicationmay receive a selection of a set of pixels that define a feature. Forexample, the media guidance application may receive a user input (e.g.,using user input interface 1210) of a selection of a particular feature,such as arrow 204. For instance, the media guidance application mayreceive the user input as a traced image from a frame of a media assetto define the feature (e.g., arrow 204). Alternatively, the user maydraw the feature (e.g., arrow 204) without reference to a frame from amedia asset. Alternatively, the media guidance application may determinethat a feature, defined by characteristics of the pixels in frames ofthe media asset, is common to a plurality of media assets and create thefeature (e.g., arrow 204) without further user input.

Process 1500 may continue to 1506, where the media guidance applicationmay determine the relative coordinates of the set of pixels. Forexample, the media guidance application may define for each pixel in theset of pixels a relative position in (x,y) coordinate space for thepixel. This allows the media guidance application to compare a featuredetected in a media asset to objects stored in memory (e.g., storage1208), as described further in FIG. 17.

Process 1500 may continue to 1508, where the media guidance applicationmay receive a selection of a portion of the pixels in the feature thatmay contain a context indicator. For example, the media guidanceapplication may receive a user selection (e.g., using user inputinterface 1210) of a rectangular box where text describing the featuregenerally appears, (i.e., that gives the object context such as“1^(st)+10” which defines the specific down and distance for a play in afootball game).

Process 1500 may continue to 1510, where the media guidance applicationmay define possible context indicators for the feature. For example themedia guidance application may store text describing the feature instorage 1208 in a table, (e.g., context table 208), where a plurality ofpossible contexts are listed which may appear as the context indicator(e.g., context indicator 206) in the feature (e.g., feature 204).

Process 1500 may continue to 1512, where the media guidance applicationmay define a library of similar media assets that relate to the feature.For example, if the media guidance application determines that thefeature (e.g., arrow 204) is commonly displayed in football relatedmedia assets, the media guidance application may associate the arrowobject with the related media assets (e.g., football games 212).Alternatively, the media guidance application may receive a user input(e.g., using user input interface 1210) of particular media assets thatthe feature is associated with, such as, “sports programs.”

Process 1500 may continue to 1514, where the media guidance applicationmay store the feature in the library as an object with a uniqueidentifier. For example, the media guidance application may store instorage 1208 the properties associated with the feature (e.g., arrowfeature 204) in the object (e.g., arrow object 202) in a librarycontaining other objects associated with sporting events. The propertiesand organization of objects in the library of objects are discussedfurther above in FIG. 3.

Process 1500 may continue to 1516, where the media guidance applicationmay receive an indication that a media asset will contain the object.For example, the media guidance application may receive an indication,such as an indication in a data packet of a media asset stream. Theindication may be a flag that indicates the incoming media asset streamcontains an object and may further contain an identifier of the objectthe media asset contains.

Process 1500 may continue to 1518, where the media guidance applicationmay generate for display (e.g., on display 1212) the object as anoverlay on the media asset. For example, upon receiving an indication,such as an indication in a data packet of a media asset stream, themedia guidance application may overlay the object (e.g., arrow object202) on the media asset. The media guidance application may thengenerate for display (e.g., on display 1212) the media asset containingthe object.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining a featurein the at least one frame of the media asset in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. Process 1600 may be used to determinefeatures in media assets that may correspond to objects so that they maybe compared to a database of objects. It should be noted that process1600 or any step thereof, could occur on, or be provided by, any of thedevices shown in FIGS. 12-13. For example, process 1600 may be executedby control circuitry 1204 as instructed by the media guidanceapplication (e.g., implemented on any of the devices shown and describedin FIG. 13).

Process 1600 begins at 1602, where the media guidance application maybegin a process for determining a feature in the at least one frame ofthe media asset. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine that an arrow feature is present by examining pixels in the atleast one frame and determining the context indicator (e.g., contextindicator 206) and the feature (e.g., feature 204) in a similar mannerto that described above for creating new objects (e.g., object 202).Once the media guidance application has mapped the feature and a tableof pixel coordinates (e.g., table of pixel coordinates 210) has beencreated for the feature, the feature may be compared to objects storedin memory (e.g., storage 1208).

Process 1600 may continue to 1604, where the media guidance applicationmay analyze a pixel map associated with the at least one frame of themedia asset. For example, the media guidance application may define apixel map for a frame in the media asset, where each pixel in the framehas a distinct position (e.g., table of pixel coordinates 210). Themedia guidance application may additionally include properties of eachpixel, such as the red-green-blue color number or brightness for eachpixel position.

Process 1600 may continue to 1606, where the media guidance applicationmay determine a group of pixels in the pixel map. For example, the mediaguidance application may determine a group of pixels in a similarlocation to comprise the group of pixels. The media guidance applicationmay retrieve pixel coordinates of a first pixel from the pixel map and,based on a defined distance from the first pixel, select nearby pixelsto comprise the group of pixels.

Process 1600 may continue to 1608, where the media guidance applicationmay analyze the group of pixels in the pixel map. For example, the mediaguidance application may iteratively compare the first pixel to theother pixels in the group of pixels. The media guidance application maypartition the group of pixels into subsets of pixels and compare theproperties of a subset of pixels near the first pixel to the firstpixel.

Process 1600 may continue to 1610, where the media guidance applicationmay determine if there are any shared properties of a subset of pixelsin the group of pixels. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine that every pixel in a particular horizontal line has similarproperties by iteratively comparing the data stored in the pixel map foreach pixel to every other pixel. The similar properties could be thatdata for each pixel in the horizontal line contains the samered-green-blue color number in the pixel map, and as such, the line is asolid color. Alternatively, the media guidance application may determinethat the pixels in the subset of pixels do not exhibit any recognizablepattern. The media guidance application may iterate through and analyzeeach subset of the group of pixels for features.

If a feature is determined in step 1610, process 1600 may continue to1612, where the media guidance application may generate a table for thefeature containing relative positions and properties of pixels in thesubset of pixels. The media guidance application may generate a table(e.g., table of pixel coordinates 210) for the feature containingrelative positions and properties of pixels in the subset of pixels. Forexample, the media guidance application may store the relative positionsof a horizontal line feature, defined by the subset of pixels, ascoordinates as well as any additional properties, such as color andbrightness, in a table or other data structure stored in memory (e.g.,storage 1208 or at a remote server accessible via communications network1314).

If no feature is determined in step 1610, process 1600 may proceed to1614 and determine whether every pixel in the pixel map has beenanalyzed. For example, the media guidance application may maintain adata structure, such as an array, of pixels the media guidanceapplication has analyzed and compared. By comparing the pixels stored inthe array with those in the pixel map, the media guidance applicationmay determine whether every pixel in the pixel map has been analyzed. Ifevery pixel in the pixel map has been analyzed, process 1600 maycontinue to 1616, where the media guidance application may return thatno feature is present in the at least one frame. If every pixel in thepixel map has not been analyzed, process 1600 may return to 1606 anddetermine a new group of pixels in the pixel map. For example, the mediaguidance application may select pixels for the new group of pixels toanalyze based on determining the pixels are not stored in the array ofpixels that have already been analyzed.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for comparing the featureto one of the stored plurality of objects in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. Process 1700 may be used to determine anobject that corresponds to a detected feature. It should be noted thatprocess 1700 or any step thereof, could occur on, or be provided by, anyof the devices shown in FIGS. 12-13. For example, process 1700 may beexecuted by control circuitry 1204 as instructed by the media guidanceapplication (e.g., implemented on any of the devices shown and describedin FIG. 13).

Process 1700 begins at 1702, where the media guidance application maystore a plurality of objects (e.g., including object 302). The mediaguidance application defines the feature or features representative ofthe object (e.g., object 302) by a first table containing relativepositions and properties of a first plurality of pixels (e.g., asdescribed in FIG. 2). The media guidance application may store in apixel coordinates field (e.g., pixel coordinates field 304) of the datastructure corresponding to the object (e.g., object 302) a pointer to atable containing the pixel coordinates for the object (e.g., object302), or the field may contain a two-dimensional array, list, or otherdata structure appropriate for containing the (x,y) plane relative pixelcoordinates. For example, the media guidance application may storecoordinates and properties for every pixel in separate rows of a table(e.g., as described in FIG. 2).

Process 1700 may continue to 1704, where the media guidance applicationmay store a tolerance factor. The tolerance factor may define howclosely the properties of the feature detected need to match theproperties of the object (e.g., object 302) stored in the database(e.g., database 300) in order for a match to be returned. For example,the media guidance application may store a tolerance factor of 1, whichmay mean the properties must match exactly. Alternatively, the mediaguidance application may store a tolerance factor of 30, which may meanthe properties do not need to be very close to return a match.

Process 1700 may continue to 1706, where the media guidance applicationmay access a first pixel position in a first table of pixel positionsand properties corresponding to a feature. For example, the mediaguidance application may retrieve the coordinates of the first pixelposition from the first table by executing a database query languagescript, such as SQL, utilizing the declarative “Select” command toaccess data in a particular table or expression. For instance, the mediaguidance application may retrieve (5,10) as the relative coordinates ofa first pixel in the (x,y) plane.

Process 1700 may continue to 1708, where the media guidance applicationmay compute an upper limit based on multiplying coordinates of the firstpixel position by the tolerance factor. For example, for a tolerancefactor of 2, the media guidance application may compute the upper limitfor the coordinates (5,10) to be (10,20).

Process 1700 may continue to 1710, where the media guidance applicationmay compute a lower limit based on dividing the coordinates of the firstpixel position by the tolerance factor. For example, for a tolerancefactor of 2, the media guidance application may compute the lower limitfor the coordinates (5,10) to be (2.5,5).

Process 1700 may continue to 1712, where the media guidance applicationmay retrieve a second pixel position of one of a second plurality ofpixels from a second table containing relative positions and propertiesof pixels for the first object. For example, as described above for thefeature, the media guidance application may retrieve the coordinates ofthe second pixel position from the second table (e.g., either containedor pointed to by pixel coordinates field 304). For instance, the mediaguidance application may retrieve (4,7) as the relative coordinates of apixel in the (x,y) plane.

Process 1700 may continue to 1714, where the media guidance applicationmay compare coordinates of the second pixel position to a range ofcoordinates of the first pixel position defined by the lower limit tothe upper limit. For example, the media guidance application may comparethe range of the first pixel position coordinates defined based on thelower and upper limits (2.5-10,5-20) to the second pixel coordinates(4,7).

Process 1700 may continue to 1716, where the media guidance applicationdetermines whether the coordinates of the second pixel position arewithin the range of coordinates of the first pixel position. Forexample, the media guidance application would find (4,7) to be withinthe range (2.5-10,5-20). If the coordinates of the second pixel positionare within the range, process 1700 may proceed to 1718, where the mediaguidance application may return that the first pixel position does matchthe second pixel position. If the coordinates of the second pixelposition are not within the range, process 1700 may proceed to 1720,where the media guidance application may return that the first pixelposition does not match the second pixel position.

Process 1700 may continue to 1722, where the media guidance applicationmay determine whether there are any more pixels in the first table tocompare to the first object. For example, the media guidance applicationmay maintain a data structure, such as an array, of pixels in the firsttable the media guidance application has analyzed and compared to pixelsin the second table. By comparing the pixels stored in the array withthose in the first table, the media guidance application may determinewhether every pixel in the first table has been analyzed. If not everypixel has been analyzed, process 1700 may return to 1706 and analyze apixel position of a new pixel that has not been previously analyzed.

If every pixel has been analyzed, process 1700 may continue to 1724,where the media guidance application may determine whether the featurematches a predetermined amount of pixels in the first object. Forexample, the media guidance application may store a predefined number orpercentage of pixels that need to match for a feature to be determinedto match the object (e.g., object 302), such as 85% of the pixels mustmatch. For example, if a feature is defined by a table containing 100pixels and the media guidance application determined 90 of the 100pixels match an object also containing 100 pixels, the media guidanceapplication may determine that the feature matches the object (e.g.,object 302) since greater than the predefined percentage of pixelsmatched. If the media guidance application determines the featurematches the first object, process 1700 may return that the featurematches the first object.

If the media guidance application determines the feature does not matchthe first object, the media guidance application may determine whetherany other objects match the feature. For example, process 1700 may befollowed by the media guidance application for every object stored in adatabase of objects to determine whether the feature matches any of theobjects stored in memory (e.g., storage 1208 or at a remote serveraccessible via communications network 1314).

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining an actionto perform based on a retrieved context indicator in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure. Process 1800 may be used todetermine the action the media guidance application should take inresponse to detecting an object. It should be noted that process 1800 orany step thereof, could occur on, or be provided by, any of the devicesshown in FIGS. 12-13. For example, process 1800 may be executed bycontrol circuitry 1204 as instructed by the media guidance application(e.g., implemented on any of the devices shown and described in FIG.13).

Process 1800 begins at 1802, where the media guidance application mayretrieve, from the context field of the data structure associated withthe first object, the context indicator associated with the firstobject. For example, the media guidance application may store“1^(st)+10” and “4^(th)+30” as particular context indicators for theobject (e.g., object 302) in context fields (e.g., contexts 308) in adata structure (e.g., a column in a table as described in FIG. 3)associated with the object (e.g., object 302). The media guidanceapplication may retrieve one of these context indicators based on thesteps of process 1800.

Process 1800 may continue to 1804, where the media guidance applicationmay determine, from data associated with the feature, a characteristicof the first object. The media guidance application may determine thecharacteristic by analyzing the pixel map associated with the featurefor additional data corresponding to a characteristic of the feature.For example, the media guidance application may determine that the framecontaining the object additionally contains a characteristic either ofthe object itself or related to the object. For instance, an object(e.g., object 302) detected during a football game may be differentcolors in different situations or the frame may contain text directlyindicating the context.

Process 1800 may continue to 1806, where the media guidance applicationmay determine whether the characteristic matches any of thecharacteristics of a plurality of context indicators stored in the datastructure associated with the first object. For example, the mediaguidance application may iterate through each of the context indicatorsin the column (e.g., contexts 308 as described in FIG. 3) correspondingto the object and determine whether the detected characteristic matchesa characteristic of the particular context indicator. For example, themedia guidance application may compare the color of the detected object(e.g., object 302) to colors associated with different contextindicators in contexts 308.

If the media guidance application determines the characteristic does notmatch any of the characteristics of a plurality of context indicators,process 1800 may continue to 1808, where the media guidance applicationmay return that the characteristic does not correspond to a contextindicator.

If the media guidance application determines the characteristic doesmatch a characteristic, process 1800 may continue to 1810, where themedia guidance application may retrieve the context indicator from thecontext field of the data structure associated with the first object.For example, upon comparing a red arrow that was detected to colorcharacteristics of the “Down and Distance Arrow” object, (e.g., object302) corresponding to different context indicators, the media guidanceapplication may determine the red arrow corresponds to a contextindicator “4^(th) down” and retrieve the context indicator from theappropriate field of contexts 308.

Process 1800 may continue to 1812, where the media guidance applicationmay query data structures in a database containing actions correspondingto context indicators for an entry containing the context indicator. Themedia guidance application may access a database containing actionscorresponding to context indicators. The media guidance application maythen query the data structures in the database for a data structure thatcontains the retrieved context indicator. For example, the mediaguidance application may, by executing a database query language scriptsuch as SQL utilizing the declarative “Select” command, access data in aparticular table or expression containing a context identifier.

Process 1800 may continue to 1814 where the media guidance applicationmay determine whether there is an entry in the database the contains thecontext indicator. For example, after comparing each context indicatorretrieved in step 1812 to the context indicator corresponding to theobject, the media guidance application may determine based on comparingidentifiers of the indicator whether the context indicators match. Forexample, an identifier of a context indicator associated with the objectmay be the string of characters, “Down and Distance Arrow.”

If there is not an entry in the database that contains the contextindicator, then process 1800 may proceed to 1816, where the mediaguidance application may return that there is no action associated withthe context identifier. In this case, the media guidance applicationwill not perform an action with respect to an object appearing in themedia asset.

If there is an entry in the database that contains the contextindicator, then process 1800 may proceed to 1818, where the mediaguidance application may retrieve the action associated with the contextindicator. If the media guidance application retrieves from an entry inthe database containing actions associated with context indicators thecontext indicator, “Down and Distance Arrow,” the media guidanceapplication may determine that the context indicator in an entry in thedatabase matches the context indicator associated with the object. Themedia guidance application may then access the data structure in thedatabase containing the entry with the matching identifier and retrievean action. The retrieved action may be an executable script which may beexecuted by the media guidance application, or a pointer to anexecutable script in a different location in memory (e.g., storage1208).

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for performing the actioncorresponding with the context indicator associated with the firstobject in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. It shouldbe noted that process 1900 or any step thereof, could occur on, or beprovided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 12-13. For example,process 1900 may be executed by control circuitry 1204 as instructed bythe media guidance application (e.g., implemented on any of the devicesshown and described in FIG. 13).

Process 1900 begins at 1902, where the media guidance application mayperform the action corresponding with the context indicator associatedwith the first object. For example, upon retrieving that the actionassociated with “1^(st)+10” is to move to that playback point, the mediaguidance application may execute a script to move to the playback pointof the object (e.g., arrow 104) with the context indicator, “1^(st)+10,”(e.g., context indicator 106).t

Process 1900 may continue to 1904, where the media guidance applicationmay fetch instructions for performing the action corresponding with thecontext indicator from memory (e.g., storage 1208). For example, theinstructions could be an executable script such as a script in anobject-oriented programming language like C++. Control circuitry 1204executing the media guidance application may fetch the script from thedatabase containing actions corresponding to objects, or from a locationpointed to by a pointer in the action field associated with the contextindicator.

Process 1900 may continue to 1906, where the media guidance applicationmay decode the instructions. For example, if the instructions are in anobject-oriented script in a language like C++, control circuitry 1204may compile the code so that the code may be executed by controlcircuitry 1204.

Process 1900 may continue to 1908, where the media guidance applicationmay execute the instructions. For example, control circuitry 1204 mayperform operations based on the decoded instructions. For instance, thedecoded instructions may instruct control circuitry 1204 to retrieve aframe of a media asset from a buffer.

Process 1900 may continue to 1910, where the media guidance applicationdetermines whether the action has been completed. For example, theaction may be to retrieve one specific frame, in which case after theframe has been retrieved the process may end. If the media guidanceapplication determines that the action has not been completed, process1900 may return to 1904. For example, if the action requires multipleloops through the script, perhaps if the code is recursive, the mediaguidance application may determine the action has not been completed andreturns to step 1904.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for transmitting a portionof a media asset containing an object to a first user in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure. It should be noted that process 2000or any step thereof, could occur on, or be provided by, any of thedevices shown in FIGS. 12-13. For example, process 2000 may be executedby control circuitry 1204 as instructed by the media guidanceapplication (e.g., implemented on any of the devices shown and describedin FIG. 13).

Process 2000 begins at 2002, where the media guidance application maystore a plurality of objects. For example, the media guidanceapplication may maintain a database stored in memory (e.g., storage1208) of objects containing information about media assets they commonlyapply to, contexts where the objects appear, and properties of theobjects. For example, the media guidance application may organize theobjects into a table where each column describes properties of anobject, as described in detail in FIG. 3.

Process 2000 may continue to 2004, where the media guidance applicationmay receive at least one frame of a media asset. For example, the mediaguidance application may record an entire football game in memory (e.g.,storage 1208) and examine each of the frames of the game for an object.Alternatively, the media guidance application may examine the frames oflive programming for objects as the frames are received. For example,the media guidance application may examine each frame as the frame ispresented on a display (e.g., display 1212) for objects. Alternatively,the media guidance application may store a buffer of live programmingsuch that a number of frames before the currently displayed frame, afterthe currently displayed frame, or both, are analyzed to determine if anyof the frames contain objects. For example, the media guidanceapplication may maintain a buffer of ten frames in memory (e.g., storage1208), such that a display (e.g., display 1212) displays the eleventhmost recently received frame and the ten more recently received framesare analyzed by the media guidance application for objects.

Process 2000 may continue to 2006, where the media guidance applicationmay determine a feature in the at least one frame of the media asset.For example, the media guidance application may determine that afeature, (e.g., feature 104) is present in the at least one frame of themedia asset (e.g., media asset 102). In some embodiments, the mediaguidance application may determine the feature by examining the patternsof particular subsets of pixels in the at least one frame of the mediaasset (e.g., media asset 102), as described further in FIG. 16. In otherembodiments, the media guidance application may determine the feature byanalyzing patterns in the waveform of an audio track. For example, themedia guidance application may determine that the appearance ofparticular frequencies that appear in a repeated pattern in the mediaasset (e.g., media asset 102) corresponds to a feature. The mediaguidance application may store the patterns associated with features inmemory (e.g., storage 1208).

Process 2000 may continue to 2008, where the media guidance applicationmay compare the feature to each of the stored plurality of objects toidentify a first object of the stored plurality of objects thatcorresponds to the feature. For example, in response to determining thatthe at least one frame contains a feature (e.g., arrow feature 104), themedia guidance application may compare the properties of the feature(e.g., arrow feature 104) with the properties of objects stored inmemory (e.g., storage 1208). The media guidance application may comparethe feature to objects based on the genre, channel, or othercommonalities of media assets for which the media guidance applicationhas defined a library of objects, as described further in FIG. 17. Themedia guidance application may then determine whether the feature (e.g.,arrow feature 104) corresponds to the arrow object stored in memory(e.g., storage 1208).

Process 2000 may continue to 2010, where the media guidance applicationmay determine the first user is not accessing the media asset. Forexample, the media guidance application may determine that all of theuser equipment devices associated with the first user are either powereddown or tuned to a different media asset, as described further in FIG.21.

Process 2000 may continue to 2012, where the media guidance applicationmay, in response to determining the feature corresponds to the firstobject and the first user is not accessing the media asset, store datacorresponding to the at least one frame containing the object in memory(e.g., storage 1208). For example, the media guidance application maystore a screenshot of the at least one frame containing the object. Asanother example, the media guidance application may store a portion ofthe media asset containing the object. As another example, the mediaguidance application may store a detailed description or media assetlisting associated with the object. The media guidance application maydetermine what data to store based on the data structure associated withthe object (e.g., the column of a table as described in FIG. 3). Forexample, the media guidance application may store in a field of the datastructure associated with the object (e.g., other properties 306) thatif the first user is not watching the media asset in which the object isdetected, to store certain data and transmit the data to the first user,as described further in FIG. 22.

Process 2000 may continue to 2014, where the media guidance applicationmay retrieve an identifier of a mobile device (e.g., wireless usercommunications device 1306) of the first user from a data structurecontaining a user profile associated with the first user. For example,the media guidance application may retrieve an identifier of a mobilephone, such as telephone number of the mobile phone, associated with thefirst user, as described further in FIG. 23.

Process 2000 may continue to 2016, where the media guidance applicationmay transmit, to the mobile device (e.g., wireless user communicationsdevice 1306) associated with the first user, the stored datacorresponding to the at least one frame containing the object. Forexample, the media guidance application may transmit a text message tothe first user's mobile phone containing the stored data, oralternatively, a link to the stored data, as described further in FIG.24.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining the firstuser is not accessing the first media asset in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. It should be noted that process 2100 orany step thereof, could occur on, or be provided by, any of the devicesshown in FIGS. 12-13. For example, process 2100 may be executed bycontrol circuitry 1204 as instructed by the media guidance application(e.g., implemented on any of the devices shown and described in FIG.13).

Process 2100 begins at 2102, where the media guidance application maybegin a process for determining the first user is not accessing thefirst media asset. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine that all of the user equipment devices associated with thefirst user are either powered down or tuned to a different media asset.

Process 2100 may continue to 2104, where the media guidance applicationmay retrieve an identifier of a first user equipment device of aplurality of user equipment devices associated with the first user fromthe data structure containing the user profile associated with the firstuser. For example, the media guidance application may query entries inthe data structure containing the user profile of the first user anddetermine there are two set-top boxes connected to televisionsassociated with the user's account. Further, the media guidanceapplication may then retrieve an identifier of one of the set-top boxes.

Process 2100 may continue to 2106, where the media guidance applicationmay query the status of the user equipment device. For example, themedia guidance application may transmit a message to the set-top box toquery the status of tuners contained in the set-top box.

Process 2100 may continue to 2108, where the media guidance applicationmay determine whether the user equipment device is accessing the firstmedia asset. For example, the media guidance application may determine,from the status of tuners, the first user equipment device is notaccessing the media asset. For example, the media guidance applicationmay determine that since each tuner of a set-top box is tuned to adifferent program, the set-top box is not accessing the media asset. Ifthe user equipment device is accessing the first media asset, thenprocess 2100 may continue to 2110, where the media guidance applicationmay return that the first user is accessing the first media asset.

If the user equipment device is not accessing the first media asset,then process 2100 may continue to 2112, where the media guidanceapplication may return that the first user is not accessing the firstmedia asset on the user equipment device. For example, the mediaguidance application may store in an array as a Boolean set to truepaired with an identifier of the user equipment device that the userequipment device is not accessing the media asset.

Process 2100 may continue to 2114, where the media guidance applicationmay query the data structure containing the user profile associated withthe first user for another user equipment device. For example, the mediaguidance application may query entries in the data structure containingthe user profile of the first user and determine there are two set-topboxes connected to televisions associated with the user's account.

Process 2100 may continue to 2116, where the media guidance applicationmay determine whether there is another user equipment device associatedwith the first user. The media guidance application may compare theidentifiers of the two set-top boxes with identifiers stored in thearray containing information about whether the user equipment devicesare accessing the first media asset. The media guidance application maythen determine whether every user equipment device associated with theuser has been checked to see if the user equipment device is accessingthe first media.

If there is not another user equipment device, then process 2100 maycontinue to 2118, where the media guidance application may return thatthe first user is not accessing the media asset. If there is anotheruser equipment device, process 2100 may return to 2106 and determinewhether that user equipment device is accessing the first media asset.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for storing datacorresponding to the at least one frame containing the object in memory(e.g., storage 1208) in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. It should be noted that process 2200 or any step thereof,could occur on, or be provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS.12-13. For example, process 2200 may be executed by control circuitry1204 as instructed by the media guidance application (e.g., implementedon any of the devices shown and described in FIG. 13).

Process 2200 begins at 2202, where the media guidance application maybegin a process for storing data corresponding to the at least one framecontaining the object in memory (e.g., storage 1208). For example, themedia guidance application may store a screenshot of the at least oneframe containing the object. As another example, the media guidanceapplication may store a portion of the media asset containing theobject. As another example, the media guidance application may store adetailed description or media asset listing associated with the object.

Process 2200 may continue to 2204, where the media guidance applicationmay determine, from an additional data field of a data structureassociated with the object, a pointer to a location of the datadescribing a media asset (e.g., media asset 904). For example, the mediaguidance application may determine from the data structure of the object(e.g., object 906) a pointer that points to media guidance data source1318 containing a description of the media asset (e.g., media asset904), such as the location of a football game and the records of bothteams. As another example, the pointer may point to a location in memory(e.g., storage 1208) of a buffer stream for the media asset.

Process 2200 may continue to 2206, where the media guidance applicationmay access the location of the data describing the media asset. Forexample, the media guidance application may access data in a bufferstream stored in storage 1208 or data stored at media guidance datasource 1318.

Process 2200 may continue to 2208, where the media guidance applicationmay retrieve the data describing the media asset. For example, the mediaguidance application may retrieve frames of the media asset from thebuffer stream stored in storage 1208. As another example, the mediaguidance application may retrieve supplemental information relating tothe media asset, such as a detailed description, from media guidancedata source 1318.

Process 2200 may continue to 2210, where the media guidance applicationmay store the data describing the media asset in memory (e.g., storage1208). For example, after retrieving the data, the media guidanceapplication may store in memory (e.g., storage 1208) the retrieved data.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for retrieving theidentifier of the mobile device (e.g., wireless user communicationsdevice 1306) of the first user from the data structure containing theuser profile associated with the first user in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. It should be noted that process 2300 orany step thereof, could occur on, or be provided by, any of the devicesshown in FIGS. 12-13. For example, process 2300 may be executed bycontrol circuitry 1204 as instructed by the media guidance application(e.g., implemented on any of the devices shown and described in FIG.13).

Process 2300 begins at 2302, where the media guidance application maybegin a process for retrieving the identifier of the mobile device(e.g., wireless user communications device 1306) of the first user fromthe data structure containing the user profile associated with the firstuser. For example, the media guidance application may retrieve anidentifier of a mobile phone, such as telephone number of the mobilephone, associated with the first user.

Process 2300 may continue to 2304, where the media guidance applicationmay access the data structure containing the user profile associatedwith the first user. For example, the media guidance application mayquery a database of user profiles for a data structure corresponding fora user profile with an identifier corresponding to the user.

Process 2300 may continue to 2306, where the media guidance applicationmay query the data structure to determine if any mobile devices (e.g.,wireless user communications device 1306) are associated with the firstuser. For example, the mobile devices may be indicated by a “mobiledevice” flag set to true among a plurality of user equipment devices.Alternatively, the mobile devices may be stored in a separate entry fromnon-mobile user equipment devices in the data structure corresponding toa profile of the first user. The media guidance application may querythe user equipment entries in the data structure to determine if amobile device is associated with the first user.

Process 2300 may continue to 2308, where the media guidance applicationmay determine if there are any mobile devices (e.g., wireless usercommunications device 1306) associated with the first user. If there arenot any mobile devices, then process 2300 may continue to 2310, wherethe media guidance application may return that there is not a mobiledevice associated with the first user. If there is a mobile deviceassociated with the first user, then process 2300 may continue to 2312,where the media guidance application may retrieve the identifier of thefirst mobile device associated with the first user. For example, themedia guidance application may retrieve the identifier by executing adatabase query language script, such as an SQL script, utilizing thedeclarative “Select” command to access data in a particular table orexpression.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for transmitting, to themobile device (e.g., wireless user communications device 1306)associated with the first user, the stored data corresponding to the atleast one frame containing the object in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. It should be noted that process 2400 orany step thereof, could occur on, or be provided by, any of the devicesshown in FIGS. 12-13. For example, process 2400 may be executed bycontrol circuitry 1204 as instructed by the media guidance application(e.g., implemented on any of the devices shown and described in FIG.13).

Process 2400 begins at 2402, where the media guidance application maybegin a process for transmitting, to the mobile device (e.g., wirelessuser communications device 1306) associated with the first user, thestored data corresponding to the at least one frame containing theobject. Process 2400 may continue to 2404, where the media guidanceapplication may retrieve the stored data describing the media asset. Forexample, the media guidance application may access the location of thestored data in memory (e.g., storage 1208) and retrieve the data.

Process 2400 may continue to 2406, where the media guidance applicationmay transcode the stored data describing the media asset into a formatappropriate for the mobile device (e.g., wireless user communicationsdevice 1306). For example, the media guidance application may determinefrom the data structure associated with the user profile for the firstuser a preferred file format for the mobile device to receive datastored in the entry with the mobile device. For example, the mediaguidance application may access an entry of a mobile device, “Tom'smobile phone,” which may contain the preferred video file format,“MPEG-4,” in addition to the identifier “123-456-789.” In response, themedia guidance application may execute a script to transcode the storeddata into the preferred file format.

Process 2400 may continue to 2408, where the media guidance applicationmay transmit the stored data to the mobile device. For example, themedia guidance application may transmit a highlight of a football gameto “Tom's mobile phone” as an attachment or embedded in a message.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of each of FIGS. 14-24may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition,the steps and descriptions described in relation to FIGS. 14-24 may bedone in alternative orders or in parallel to further the purposes ofthis disclosure. For example, each of these steps may be performed inany order or in parallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lagor increase the speed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should benoted that any of the devices or equipment discussed in relation toFIGS. 1-13 could be used to perform one or more of the steps in FIGS.14-24.

The processes discussed above are intended to be illustrative and notlimiting. One skilled in the art would appreciate that the steps of theprocesses discussed herein may be omitted, modified, combined, and/orrearranged, and any additional steps may be performed without departingfrom the scope of the invention. More generally, the above disclosure ismeant to be exemplary and not limiting. Only the claims that follow aremeant to set bounds as to what the present invention includes.Furthermore, it should be noted that the features and limitationsdescribed in any one embodiment may be applied to any other embodimentherein, and flowcharts or examples relating to one embodiment may becombined with any other embodiment in a suitable manner, done indifferent orders, or done in parallel. In addition, the systems andmethods described herein may be performed in real time. It should alsobe noted that the systems and/or methods described above may be appliedto, or used in accordance with, other systems and/or methods.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for transmitting a portion of a mediaasset containing an object to a first user, the method comprising:storing a plurality of objects; receiving at least one frame of themedia asset; determining a feature in the at least one frame of themedia asset; comparing the feature to each of the stored plurality ofobjects to identify a first object of the stored plurality of objectsthat corresponds to the feature; determining that none of a plurality ofuser equipment devices associated with the first user is accessing themedia asset; in response to determining the feature corresponds to thefirst object and that none of the plurality of user equipment devicesassociated with the first user is accessing the media asset, storingdata corresponding to the at least one frame containing the object inmemory; retrieving an identifier of a mobile device of the first userfrom a data structure containing a user profile associated with thefirst user; and transmitting, to the mobile device associated with thefirst user, the stored data corresponding to the at least one framecontaining the object.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein storing theplurality of objects comprises: creating the feature; associating thecreated feature with a plurality of media assets, wherein the pluralityof media assets contain similar content; storing the created feature asthe first object in a library of objects associated with the pluralityof media assets; and generating an overlay with the first object on themedia asset.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the featurecomprises: analyzing a pixel map associated with the at least one frameof the media asset; analyzing a group of pixels in the pixel map;determining shared properties of a subset of pixels in the group ofpixels; and generating a table for the feature containing relativepositions and properties of pixels in the subset of pixels.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the feature is defined by a first tablecontaining relative positions and properties of a first plurality ofpixels, and wherein comparing the feature to each of the storedplurality of objects comprises: storing a tolerance factor; accessing afirst pixel position of a first pixel stored in the first table;computing an upper limit based on multiplying coordinates of the firstpixel position by the tolerance factor; computing a lower limit based ondividing the coordinates of the first pixel position by the tolerancefactor; retrieving a second pixel position of one of a second pluralityof pixels from a second table containing relative positions andproperties of pixels for the first object; comparing coordinates of thesecond pixel position to a range of coordinates of the first pixelposition defined by the lower limit to the upper limit; determining thefirst pixel position matches the second pixel position when thecoordinates of the second pixel position is within the range ofcoordinates of the first pixel position; and in response to determininga predetermined number of the pixel positions corresponding to the firstplurality of pixels in the first table match one of a plurality of pixelpositions in the second table, determining the feature corresponds tothe first object.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining thatnone of the plurality of user equipment devices associated with thefirst user is accessing the media asset comprises: retrieving anidentifier of a first user equipment device of the plurality of userequipment devices associated with the first user from the data structurecontaining the user profile associated with the first user; accessing astatus of the first user equipment device; determining, from the status,the first user equipment device is not accessing the media asset; inresponse to determining each of the plurality of user equipment devicesassociated with the first user is not accessing the media asset,determining the first user is not accessing the media asset.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein storing data corresponding to the at leastone frame containing the object in memory comprises: determining a firstplayback point in the media asset based on a first frame of the at leastone frame containing the object; storing, from the first playback point,the portion of the media asset in memory; determining a second playbackpoint in the media asset based on a second frame wherein the secondframe does not contain the object; and ceasing the storing of theportion of the media asset in memory at the second playback point. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein data refers to information describing themedia asset, and wherein storing data corresponding to the at least oneframe containing the object in memory comprises: determining, from aninformation field of a data structure associated with the object, apointer to a location of the information describing the media asset;accessing the location of the information describing the media asset;retrieving the information describing the media asset; and storing theinformation describing the media asset in memory.
 8. The method of claim1, wherein the mobile device is a first mobile device, and whereinretrieving the identifier of the mobile device of the first user fromthe data structure containing the user profile associated with the firstuser comprises: accessing the data structure containing the user profileassociated with the first user; querying the data structure to determineif any mobile devices are associated with the first user; and inresponse to determining the first mobile device is associated with thefirst user, retrieving the identifier of the first mobile deviceassociated with the first user.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein themobile device is a first mobile device, and wherein transmitting, to themobile device associated with the first user, the stored datacorresponding to the at least one frame containing the object comprises:determining the first mobile device has not received the transmittedstored data; querying the data structure containing the user profileassociated with the first user for a second mobile device associatedwith the first user; and in response to determining the second mobiledevice associated with the first user, transmitting the stored datacorresponding to the at least one frame containing the object to thesecond mobile device.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: inresponse to the mobile device receiving the transmission of the storeddata: generating for display on the mobile device an identifier of themedia asset; generating for display on the mobile device a selectableoption to access the stored data; and in response to the first userselecting the option to access the stored data, generating for displaythe stored data on the mobile device.
 11. A system for transmitting aportion of a media asset containing an object to a first user, thesystem comprising: storage circuitry configured to store a plurality ofobjects; and control circuitry configured to: receive at least one frameof the media asset; determine a feature in the at least one frame of themedia asset; compare the feature to each of the stored plurality ofobjects to identify a first object of the stored plurality of objectsthat corresponds to the feature; determine that none of a plurality ofuser equipment devices associated with the first user is accessing themedia asset; in response to determining the feature corresponds to thefirst object and that none of the plurality of user equipment devicesassociated with the first user is accessing the media asset, store datacorresponding to the at least one frame containing the object in memory;retrieve an identifier of a mobile device of the first user from a datastructure containing a user profile associated with the first user; andtransmit, to the mobile device associated with the first user, thestored data corresponding to the at least one frame containing theobject.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry isfurther configured to: create the feature; associate the created featurewith a plurality of media assets, wherein the plurality of media assetscontain similar content; store the created feature as the first objectin a library of objects associated with the plurality of media assets;and generate an overlay with the first object on the media asset. 13.The system of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry configured todetermine the feature is further configured to: analyze a pixel mapassociated with the at least one frame of the media asset; analyze agroup of pixels in the pixel map; determine shared properties of asubset of pixels in the group of pixels; and generate a table for thefeature containing relative positions and properties of pixels in thesubset of pixels.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein the feature isdefined by a first table containing relative positions and properties ofa first plurality of pixels, and wherein the control circuitry isfurther configured to: store a tolerance factor; access a first pixelposition of a first pixel stored in the first table; compute an upperlimit based on multiplying coordinates of the first pixel position bythe tolerance factor; compute a lower limit based on dividing thecoordinates of the first pixel position by the tolerance factor;retrieve a second pixel position of one of a second plurality of pixelsfrom a second table containing relative positions and properties ofpixels for the first object; compare coordinates of the second pixelposition to a range of coordinates of the first pixel position definedby the lower limit to the upper limit; determine the first pixelposition matches the second pixel position when the coordinates of thesecond pixel position is within the range of coordinates of the firstpixel position; and in response to determining a predetermined number ofthe pixel positions corresponding to the first plurality of pixels inthe first table match one of a plurality of pixel positions in thesecond table, determine the feature corresponds to the first object. 15.The system of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry configured todetermine that none of the plurality of user equipment devicesassociated with the first user is accessing the media asset is furtherconfigured to: retrieve an identifier of a first user equipment deviceof the plurality of user equipment devices associated with the firstuser from the data structure containing the user profile associated withthe first user; access a status of the first user equipment device;determine, from the status, the first user equipment device is notaccessing the media asset; in response to determining each of theplurality of user equipment devices associated with the first user isnot accessing the media asset, determine the first user is not accessingthe media asset.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein the controlcircuitry configured to store data corresponding to the at least oneframe containing the object in memory is further configured to:determine a first playback point in the media asset based on a firstframe of the at least one frame containing the object; store, from thefirst playback point, the portion of the media asset in memory;determine a second playback point in the media asset based on a secondframe wherein the second frame does not contain the object; and ceasethe storing of the portion of the media asset in memory at the secondplayback point.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein data refers toinformation describing the media asset, and wherein the controlcircuitry configured to store data corresponding to the at least oneframe containing the object in memory is further configured to:determine, from an information field of a data structure associated withthe object, a pointer to a location of the information describing themedia asset; access the location of the information describing the mediaasset; retrieve the information describing the media asset; and storethe information describing the media asset in memory.
 18. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the mobile device is a first mobile device, andwherein the control circuitry configured to retrieve the identifier ofthe mobile device of the first user from the data structure containingthe user profile associated with the first user is further configuredto: access the data structure containing the user profile associatedwith the first user; query the data structure to determine if any mobiledevices are associated with the first user; and in response todetermining the first mobile device is associated with the first user,retrieve the identifier of the first mobile device associated with thefirst user.
 19. The system of claim 11, wherein the mobile device is afirst mobile device, and wherein the control circuitry configured totransmit, to the mobile device associated with the first user, thestored data corresponding to the at least one frame containing theobject is further configured to: determine the first mobile device hasnot received the transmitted stored data; query the data structurecontaining the user profile associated with the first user for a secondmobile device associated with the first user; and in response todetermining the second mobile device associated with the first user,transmit the stored data corresponding to the at least one framecontaining the object to the second mobile device.
 20. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: inresponse to the mobile device receiving the transmission of the storeddata: generate for display on the mobile device an identifier of themedia asset; generate for display on the mobile device a selectableoption to access the stored data; and in response to the first userselecting the option to access the stored data, generate for display thestored data on the mobile device.